Cat Assassin
by DarkMoonGoddess
Summary: I really gotta learn how to write a summary properly. --;; Funny, well-written, in my humble opinion... Updated HOC (Non-Mary-Sue) Read and Review, onegai?
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: I decided to take down my other fic and put this one up. I didn't like where that was going. It was a little too mary-sueish. (is that a word?) Anyways, um, what was I going to say? Don't flame me for the name of my character. I'm really bad at names, and American and English names bore me. (Trust me, I have the most boring, unoriginal name under the sun. I don't want my character to have the same curse.) 

I do NOT own YYH, or Hiei *starts to cry in self-pity* and we all know that. Is everybody clear? Good.

If this is a mary-sue, please let me know and I'll fix it straightaway. 

Oh yeah, someone explain to me the difference in youko and youkai. I don't know and everyone else does! I think Kurama's a youko, and Hiei's a youkai…is that right? 

Chapter 1

~*~*~*~*~

Deep in a dark forest of the Makai, a bleeding form fell to the ground with a thud. (cliché!)

"Mercy!" it begged. (cliché, huh?) 

High, cold laughter greeted this request. "I don't think so." A sword flashed once, beheading the unfortunate demon.

"Good work."

"Whatever. What I don't understand is why bother waste your time and money on such a low-class."

"I…have my reasons. A personal grudge. Here's your pay."

The figure snorted, and began sifting through the bag. 

"Its all there." 

"I'm checking anyway."

"I have another favor to ask of you."

"Cut the small talk. What is it?"

"There is a group of four spirit detectives, known as the Urameshi team."

"I've heard of them."

"Naturally, what demon hasn't? I want them dead."

"I figured as much. Four, and all of them spirit detectives," it mused, "that's going to cost a lot. You have the money?"

"Of course."

"You better, unless you want to be next." With that, the cloaked black demon vanished into the shadows. 

~*~*~

"Be quiet. You're making enough noise to alert the entire Makai of our presence."

"Shut up, Shorty. This is hard," Kuwabara whined. 

"Hn," Hiei replied. 

"Will you both stop acting like children?" Yusuke cried in exasperation. This had been going on for the past hour or so. The members of the Urameshi team were traveling in their own fashion, Hiei jumping from tree to tree, Kurama running lightly over the ground, and Yusuke and Kuwabara tripping over roots and vines while trying to keep up with Hiei. 

In another part of the forest, another demon was running also. It was searching around for any energy signals (?) in the area, and finding none. 'This is really annoying. They must have a cloak or something, because this is the area they were rumored to be in.' 

"Hey, guys, I think we should stop."

"What is it now, Kuwabara?"

"I'm getting a weird feeling around here. Like, it's not entirely bad, but not good at all, either."

Shortly after, the demon found what it was looking for. Four incredibly strong ki's, and right in front of it? The demon stopped short to observe. Yes, it was the Urameshi team. 

"Right there!" Kuwabara shouted. The demon started. He shouldn't have been able to detect it, with the mild cloak it had put over its ki. Well, game's up. 

"Hello, boys," it said, stepping out of the bushes. "Hate to say it, but you've all got an appointment with death, right now."

"Hold on a sec," Yusuke shouted. "Why do you want to kill us?"

"Nothing personal. You can fight me one by one, or in a group, whichever you want." The demon threw off its cloak. 

She was as short as Hiei, maybe a little shorter. She wasn't thin; rather, she looked lithe and powerful, and compact. Her weird, cat-like, yellowish-green eyes shifted constantly, and she had frosty pink lips. She had a pale, almost ghostly complexion, no doubt from traveling and operating at night. Two furry black cat ears poked through her dark blond and brown streaked hair, which stuck out in crazy spikes from a simple ponytail. 

She wore knee-high black boots and dark gray breeches, and a black belt. She had a tight black leather shirt, and through the v-neck, the detectives could see white bandage, wrapped like a boa constrictor around her chest. She wore black armbands on each arm for decoration, and her wrists and hands were wrapped for protection. But the most noticeable feature, to the fighters at least, was a black leather scabbard thrust through her belt. 

"So what'll it be? One by one or the entire group?"

The team conferred quietly for a few seconds. "One by one," Yusuke announced.

"It's against my policy to fight girls," Kuwabara sniffed. 

"That's not very wise, Kuwabara," Kurama said.

"And why not?"

"You're going to offend a lot of female demon fighters if you go saying that around here," Kurama answered. 

"I'll fight her," Hiei said. The team looked at him strangely. Hiei usually didn't waste his talents until someone else had been beaten soundly. 

"Good," she said. "Let's not waste time."

"Wouldn't want to." Hiei threw off his cloak (?) and lunged at her without another word. The cat demon was ready for him, but not ready enough. She had heard of Hiei's incredible speed, but she only narrowly avoided being cleaved in half by his downward strike. She responded with an attack of her own, which Hiei dodged. They fought like mad for a few more minutes, and then it became clear that Hiei had the advantage. He completed a complicated maneuver, and rested his blade across her throat. 

"Hiei, that's enough!" Yusuke called.

"I know."

"What are we gonna do with her?" asked Kuwabara.

"I don't know," Yusuke said. 

"You're not going to do anything with me," she gasped, struggling to escape from Hiei's grasp. 

"I don't think so," he growled, pinning her on the ground with one foot resting on her back. The edge of his katana never left her throat. 

"We should take her to Koenma," Kurama suggested. 

"No!" 

"Yes, let's do that and get this over with," Yusuke said. She was dragged, kicking, punching, and occasionally, biting, towards the Reikai. (?) 

About halfway there, she stopped struggling and said, "Alright! I'll cooperate! Put me down!" 

"Are you serious?" Yusuke asked incredulously. All that trouble, and she was just giving up?

The cat demon nodded her head.

"Put her down, Hiei," Kurama said. 

Hiei dropped her unceremoniously. "Humph," she said, dusting herself off. 

~*~*~*~

"Koenma, the detectives are here," Boton said. 

"Tell them I'm busy."

"Well, they're still on the mission."

"Then what are they doing here?" Koenma shouted, exasperated.

"Well, apparently, there's some girl who tried to kill them, and they brought her here to see you," Boton explained.

"I'll talk to her later! Tell those boys to get back on the mission!" 

"Right away, sir!" Boton hurried off to relay the message.

~*~*~*~ A few hours later ~*~*~*~

The cat demon was still sitting cross-legged outside Koenma's office. Boton had passed by every once in a while, and the strange demon had not moved at all. Boton doubted if she had even batted an eyelid. 

"Alright, BOTON!!" Koenma cried. "Tell the girl I'm ready now!"

Seeing the cat-like form across the hall, he started and said, "oh, you're here. Come in, and don't try anything!"

'I won't' she thought. She followed the toddler into his office and sat across from the desk. 

"Who are you?" he asked.

"That's a pretty broad question."

"What is your name?" Koenma could see this was going to be a very long afternoon. 

"My name is Kai."

"What are you?"

"You can't tell? I'm a cat demon."

"Are you any important demon, like a princess or something?"

Kai laughed. "No. A lot of cat demons think they are, but none are anything special. I don't think cat demons even have a leader. We're pretty independent." That was possibly the longest statement she had said in years.

Koenma decided not to pursue the matter further. Now for the real questions. "Why did you try to kill the Urameshi team?"

She shrugged. "It was nothing personal."

"Did someone ask you to do that?"

"Yes."

"Was it a favor?"

"No."

"Did someone pay you?"

"Yes."

"Who is your client?"

"I'm not going to tell unless there's some kind of benefit for me."

"If you tell me, I will let you stay out of Reikai jail in exchange for this information and a little bit of community service."

The demon thought. "Okay. Actually, I'm happy to screw the ugly bastard over."

Koenma winced. "Language, please."

"Sorry. He's a demon businessman, don't like the guy, but I work with him, because he has money." Kai went on to explain all about her client, where he lived, when he was home, and so on.

A/N: It's not important, and I'm not feeling creative!

~*~*~*~

"This is what he calls a 'little bit of community service'?" Kai muttered to herself, seeing the four fighters before her. 'This is going to be living hell.' 

The Urameshi team had just returned from a successful mission, and were looking forward to going home to relax. Koenma cleared his throat. "Yusuke, I have an assignment for you. Instead of sending her to jail, I decided to give this young lady a second chance and work with you and the team. She's on probation, so I suggest the team doesn't break up this time because you need to keep an eye on her."

Koenma was greeted by blank stares. "You want us to do what?" Yusuke asked.

"I already explained it. Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama, and Hiei, this is Kai," Koenma announced. Kai nodded. 

~*~*~*~

"Do you think you could look a little more normal? I mean, we're going to Ningenkai, and the people there aren't used to seeing cat ears and fangs," Yusuke said.

"I could," Kai said crossly. She screwed up her face in a scowl, and altered her appearance so that she looked more human. (can they do that?) Her furry black ears disappeared and her fangs shrank. Even her eyes lost the strange yellowish glow. 

"Much better," Kuwabara said.

She growled in response. 

"And you can't wear that," Yusuke added.

"Why not?"

"Because you're going to school with Suuichi here," Yusuke smirked, indicating Kurama, "and you have to wear human stuff."

Kai temporarily forgot her unpleasant situation. "Suuichi?" 

"My human self," Kurama explained. 

"Oh, I didn't know that." She thought. "But why am I going to ningen school?"

"Because Kurama needs to keep an eye on you, that's why." Kuwabara answered. Kai glared at him. She was really starting to dislike the redheaded ningen. 

"What's Hiei going to do? He can watch me," she said desperately. At least she knew _he _wasn't going to school. 

"I'm going out. Alone," Hiei said, and left without another word. 

"Well screw you," she answered. "Alright, I'll go." 

"No demon stuff," Yusuke called over his shoulder.

"Whatever," she muttered. "So, Suuichi, where's your school?"

A/N: PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!!! PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE!!!!!! Pretty please with sugar on top? Did ya like it? Yes, no, maybe? If the beginning part is cliché, don't tell me because I already know. 


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I decided that most of this fic, the beginning and middle part anyway, is going to take place in the human world. I don't know why, that's just how it turned out. I'll figure out the time later, when I've seen more of the series. 

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. (no, really?) 

~*~*~*~ Chapter 2 ~*~*~*~

            "You know, it really isn't as bad as you think it is," Kurama said thoughtfully on their way to school. 

            "What, being forced to spend my time with you guys or going to school?" Kai asked gloomily as she trudged along the pavement next to Kurama. She had woken up at the crack of dawn, ready to practice with the katana, when she noticed the unfamiliar surroundings. The events of the previous day came rushing back to her when Kurama came into her room carrying a school uniform. 

            Kurama smiled. Kai noticed that Kurama smiled often, but rarely laughed. He always seemed so happy. "Being a spirit detective. You know, Hiei and I were in the same situation a little while ago. You get used to it after a while, and maybe even start to like it."

            Kai snorted. She was convinced she wouldn't like it at all. Get used to it, maybe. "I have to call you Shuuichi now, right?"

            Kurama nodded. 

            "Oh my gosh! Its Shuuichi!" a girl dressed in a uniform squealed.

            "Who's that with him?"

            "It's a girl!" 

            "Maybe he has a girlfriend!" 

            They all looked horrified at the idea. 

            "Let's go see," one of them suggested. 

            The whole mob started off at an extremely quick walk, trying not to look angry or suspicious and failing miserably. 

            Kurama saw them coming and winced. 

            Kai, noticing them also, said, "Got you own fanclub, huh?"

            "Please, no," he whispered.

            Kai understood the situation. "Alright, here's the story. I'm your old friend from out of town that just moved here. I'm shy and I don't like people so I don't talk much and hang around you." 

            "Sounds good," Kurama said. Kai didn't know why she was being so nice to Kurama, or why he was being so nice to her. She didn't know that Kurama was usually nice. While she pondered this, Kurama explained to the girls who Kai was. They went away, looking both relieved and disappointed. 

            "I think they expected you to ask the whole lot of them out on the spot," she whispered.

            Kurama chose to ignore this last comment, and they walked the rest of the way in silence. 

            All day in school, Kai stared longingly out the window. The great outdoors had never looked so good to her. Teachers whose names she had not even bothered to remember droned on and on. She looked at Kurama, who was studying diligently, every once in a while, and smiled to herself when she realized almost every girl in the class was staring at him. This amused Kai to no end, and she made a mental note to herself to tease Kurama about it after school. 

            When the time for gym class came, Kai wondered what she was going to do. Her demon-like speed and strength would look a little suspicious, so she decided to fake it. This worked surprisingly well, but, obviously, Kurama knew what she was doing. The rest of the day passed this way, and the next day, and the next. 

            By Thursday, Kai felt she was going to explode with boredom. Every class was torture, and she didn't listen to any teachers or bother to write homework down. By fifth period after lunch, she knew she couldn't take it anymore. Being a ningen was so _boring! _Nothing happened, nobody wanted anything to happen. 

            "I'm leaving," she whispered to Kurama. 

            He looked as if he wanted to stop her, then thought better of it. "Do what you wish," he said. He didn't feel it was necessary to 'watch' her anymore, and human school to a free demon spirit must be grueling, not in the work, but the confines. 

            She looked gratefully at him and slipped quietly out the door during period change. She grinned to herself, liking that she was foiling Yusuke and Kuwabara's plans to torture her, and the teachers' attempts to tame her. She stood on the roof for a while, drinking in the daylight that human teenagers are denied while trapped in the prison called school. She was going to have some fun today. 

A/N: My school is a prison. It even looks like one!

            Kai leapt lightly from building to building in a very demon-like way, not caring whether or not she was spotted. Her eyes were closed and she was running when she ran straight into a solid object. 

"Goddamn it, what was that? That hurt!" she shouted.

            "Then maybe you should watch where you're going," Hiei's voice said from above her. 

            "Shut up," she muttered, rubbing her head. She waited for him to help her up, but he made no effort to extend his hand. "Well you're a real gentleman."

            "Hn," he replied. At least he was waiting for her. 

            "So what are you doing up here?" she asked, making an attempt at conversation, which was virtually impossible with Hiei. 

            He just shrugged. 

            "Do you mind if I walk with you?"

            "No," he said.

            Kai decided that silence would be best. They walked around the streets for a while, not really doing anything, each with their own thoughts, which suited both of them just fine. In the early afternoon, they chanced upon a forest on the outskirts of the town.

            "Let's go in here, I'm sick of the city," Kai said. 

            Hiei agreed. "You don't like the city," he said.

            "No, I guess I'm a country girl at heart," she replied. "Where I grew up, it was beautiful and open, never too crowded. It took me a while to realize that most of the Makai was dirty and torn by the ravages of war and crime. That was a bit of a shocker. What about you?"

            "I always knew it was like that."

            Kai sensed there was more to the story, but if Hiei didn't want to tell her, that was his business. Just then she spotted a small lake in the middle of the forest. She pulled off her boots, rolled her breeches up to her knees, and waded in the crystal clear water. Kai splashed around for a while in a most un-cat-like manner before settling on a rock by the water's edge. "Come on, it's only water, it's not going to kill you!" she called to Hiei, who was still standing far away from the lake. 

            He shook his head. 

            "Suit yourself." She went back to dangling her feet in the water, enjoying the cool sensation. 

            "Do you have any siblings?" Hiei asked suddenly. 

            Kai paused to consider the odd question. "Of course," she answered. "17 of them."

            Hiei's eyes opened wide. "That many?"

            "Sure," she said. "It's not all that strange for cat demons. In fact, it's average. Why?"

            "Just wondering."

            'Yeah right,' she thought. "Do you?"

            "What?"

            "Have any siblings?"

            He hesitated. "Yes."

            "Well?" 

            Something in her eyes made him want to spill the entire story, as he had never wanted to before. 

            "If there's anything you want to say, I promise you it won't leave here."  
            His crimson eyes looked at her warily. 

            "I swear," she said.

            Hiei told Kai about his entire life, being rejected by the ice demons and being raised by thieves, learning the katana, his criminal record, and most of all, searching for his sister Yukina. It was possibly the first and last time he would ever talk like this in his entire life.

            "She abhors killing of all kind. Look at me; I've slain half the Makai. Yukina would be devastated to learn that I was her brother." Hiei looked at the ground, almost afraid of Kai's reaction.

            Kai didn't know what to say. She felt she should say something, as Hiei had just confided in her his greatest secret, but she didn't know what. She didn't understand completely, but words would ruin the moment. She softly stood up and laid her hand gently on Hiei's shoulder. He jumped, startled, then relaxed. Her eyes communicated all she needed to say, sympathy and understanding. 

            The rapidly setting sun warned her it was time to go. "I'll see you later," she said before slipping off back through the forest. 

            Kai had enough to think about the next day to get her all the way through school the next day. Most of her thoughts were dominated by visions of a short fire demon with blood-red eyes. She was nervous around Hiei, and never knew how to act. She never felt like this with Kurama, but it made her all the more determined to get to know Hiei better. 

            Friday night found Kai sitting cross-legged across from Kurama, watching him complete the algebra homework she had not felt like doing. The steady drone of rain on the windowpane drummed upon her ears. She wondered what Hiei was doing in this weather. Kurama told her he liked to sleep outside, but it must be really nasty in the pouring rain. 

            "You can go downstairs and get something to eat if you want," Kurama suggested. 

            "Okay," she said and bounced down the stairs to raid Kurama's refrigerator. His mother was conveniently out of town, or he would have some serious explaining to do. A strange girl sleeping over is not something most mothers take kindly to.

            Kai rummaged through the cabinets until she found a box of chocolates. She inspected the semi-sweet morsel thoroughly and popped it into her mouth. "Mmm, this is good!" She proceeded to devour the entire box. When that was finished, she was still hungry, so she attacked the freezer. What she found was a ningen thing called ice cream, which looked interesting. Kai dug her spoon in and tasted it. At that moment, Hiei walked into the room, soaking wet from the downpour. 

            "Hey, you want some of this?" Kai asked, gallantly offering to share her ice cream with Hiei. 

            "No."

            She shrugged. "Suit yourself." She wolfed down the chocolate chip cookie dough so fast she almost didn't taste it. 

            "You know, you really shouldn't eat it that fast," Hiei commented.

            "What do you know?"

            He just looked at her in response, a slight smirk playing on his lips. 

            Kai's eyes opened wide in surprise as she got a horrible, freezing headache. She gasped and began searching frantically for anything warm. 

            "Ningens call it brainfreeze," Hiei said, giving a short laugh. 

            "Are you laughing at me?"

            "Yes." 

            Without any warning, Kai rushed over and tackled him, knocking him off the couch he was sitting on. She pummeled him, laughing all the time. Hiei flipped her onto her back, and she used her legs to propel him across the room. While they were rolling around on the floor, they didn't hear the doorbell ring or Yusuke, Kuwabara, Boton, Keiko, and Shizuru enter the house. 

            "I'm not even going to tell you what that looks like," Shizuru commented. 

            "Who's that?" Keiko asked. 

            Kai got up and dusted herself off. "Hello, I'm Kai, pleased to meet you," she said sweetly. 

            Yusuke and Kuwabara gave her strange looks. This was most unlike the quiet, slightly sarcastic cat demon they had come to know. Maybe she acted differently around girls. 

            Hiei was a bit puzzled. He had never fought like that before. Kai had seemed almost playful while she tackled him. Whatever the reason, he could see it wasn't a serious fight, almost like Yusuke and Kuwabara. Very strange.

            Kai could tell Hiei probably hadn't play-fought in his entire life. She gave herself a shake. She felt almost giddy, which had never happened to her before. 

            Boton, Keiko, and Shizuru looked around the room at the others, who were all deep in their own thoughts, not paying any attention to anyone else. 

            "Koenma told us to meet here for our next assignment," Boton said. "But, the problem is, we haven't received the video yet." 

            "Are you sure this is the right day?" Kurama, who had just entered the room, asked. 

            "Yes, I'm positive." 

            "Well, then we'll just have to wait," Yusuke said. 

            They sat on the couches and watched television. Kai grew bored after the third hour, and went outside to get some fresh air. After a while, the others heard a strange, enchanting sound coming from outside. They crowded around the window, to see Kai perched on the deck railing, playing on a small reed pipe. Kurama and Hiei felt the music deeply, and Yusuke felt it also, to some degree. The humans knew that it was pretty, and weird, but nothing else. It scared Kuwabara, who, brilliant person that he is, decided to stop it. He grabbed the nearest solid object, which happened to be somebody's boot, and threw it at Kai, throwing her off her perch. She fell the short distance to earth with a crash. 

            Kurama and Hiei slowly began to slink away. The girls and Yusuke followed their good example. Kuwabara was not fortunate enough to be gifted with common sense, and he remained standing where he was. 

            "WHO-THREW-THAT?" Kai yelled, panting, as she climbed back up to Kurama's apartment. 

            Yusuke silently pointed to Kuwabara. Kai looked to Hiei and Kurama for verification. They nodded, a little apprehensively. Kai leapt at Kuwabara, and began pounding him into the ground. Five minutes later, Kai emerged victorious from an anime scuffle, perfectly calm and happy. The rest of the room just sweatdropped. 

            The doorbell rang. "Uhhh," a young nymph said.

            "Is this the residence of Shuuichi Minamino, or Kurama the kitsune?" an elderly fairy corrected her.

            "Great, a trainee," Kai muttered to Hiei, just loud enough so that he could hear it. 

            "I…I have a package for him…or…"

            "Another member of the Rekai Tantai." 

            This was starting to get really annoying. 

            "I'll take it. I am Kurama."

            "Now give him the package, dear." 

            Kai snickered. Kurama took the package, presumably containing the video of their next assignment. 

            "All right, let's watch it. We've been waiting half the night."

            "Now I know why."

            "Reikai (?) trainees are really a bother."

            "Just watch the video!" Boton exclaimed. 

            Koenma came on the screen as usual with a big commotion telling everyone how great he was. 

            "Now, for your next assignment," he began, speaking through the pacifier in his mouth. 

            "There is a demon living in the human world. His demon name is Mokkan; I do not know what his human name or appearance is. In demon form he is certainly a kitsune of a rare sort, very powerful. Here is a picture."

            The screen showed a good-looking kitsune demon, with inky black hair and amber eyes. 

            "I have reason to believe he has ambitions to rule the human world, and possibly the spirit world as well. I want you to go find him, and defeat him any way you can. The problem is; he is not an easy man to find. He keeps company with high-class ningens and poses very well as one of them. We have only one known location and one time where we are certain he will be." Koenma paused for effect. 

            "It is at a party, a formal ningen party, where I want you to go and investigate."

            The members of the Urameshi team looked shocked. "You want us to go _where?" _Yusuke gasped. 

            "Look at us," said Kuwabara, "we're not exactly high-class material."

            "Well get a disguise or something," Koenma answered, giving a small wave of his hand. "It's in exactly two weeks. You better get going. And you will be expected to have dates, or at least the girls should go. So you blend in." 

            "This is going to be fun," Kai muttered to herself. She didn't really have an opinion on this, only that she really didn't want to dress up, and it was clear she was going to have to. And a _date_! She shuddered. 

            Hiei was most displeased about this assignment. Dressing up and attending ningen parties was really not his thing. Kurama was neutral. Yusuke looked like he was going to murder someone, so Kuwabara stepped out of the way.

            "Oh, this is going to be so much fun!" Keiko exclaimed. 

            "You'll have to go shopping with us, Kai! This is an interesting assignment, for once," Boton agreed. 

            'Do I really have a choice?' Kai asked herself. 'Probably not.' "Alright, I'll go," she said resignedly. 

~*~*~*~

            "You know what you have to do."

            "Yes," the woman said with a coy smile. "I know exactly what I need to do." 

            "Be careful. None of them are stupid."

            "I know. That makes it all the more fun for me."

            "Go now."

            "Right," she said, slipping into the darkness. 

A/N: I just had an evil idea, but I need a victim. A victim who's not currently paired up with anyone.

*sad, pitying glance* Kurama, I'm afraid that's you. Please understand that I hold you in the highest regard. *line belongs to Princess Bride* Yes, Mary-Sue-dom for you. But only for a little while. *snicker* My sadistic side is kicking in. Oh wait, I don't have a side that's not sadistic...

SURGEON GENERAL'S WARNING: Kurama will be a little OOC in the next few chapters. He is just too smart for his own good, and he is in for a brief lapse in intelligence and reason, as well as taste. Poor Kurama. You may want to feel sick, but I assure you, it's only temporary. 


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Hello everybody! Just another warning: the next few chapters will be torture for Kurama fans. I'm sorry, but he's the only one that I could use as the victim. Don't get me wrong, I love Kurama (I practically cried when he was fighting Team Masho) He's going to suffer from a minor lapse in intelligence and reason. I'll try to keep him as in character as I can. THANX 4 ALL THE POSITIVE REVIEWS!!!!!!!!!

Disclaimer: This is General Monty here, leader of the monties and head minion of DarkMoonGoddess, also future Queeness of the Universe. I have a proclamation from her majesty: She does not own Yu Yu Hakusho! When her plans to take over the universe finally succeed, THEN she will own Yu Yu Hakusho! *hears snickers from the audience* She does not own it now, or Hiei, or Kurama! If you attempt to sue, her army of monties and assassins will come after you! J/k! 

Random Monty: GET ON WITH THE FIC!!!! 

Random Monty2: The character, Kai, and the plot of this fic, and all events that happen in it, are the sole properties of DarkMoonGoddess! Do not make her angry! *friends come in to verify this* 

~*~*~*~ CHAPTER 3~*~*~*~

            "Come on, Kai, it'll be fun!" Boton said enthusiastically as she shifted through endless dresses.

            "Yeah, I'm sure," Kai responded half-heartedly, picking up random objects and inspecting them. "Who are you going with?"

            "Nobody, really," Boton answered. "You?" 

            "Same."

            Giggling, Boton asked, "What about Kurama?" 

            Kai growled. "How many times do I have to tell you? There is nothing like that between me and Kurama. We're just friends!" she protested. 

            "Yeah right!" 

            "Think what you want." It was true. Boton was constantly asking her about Kurama, and the answer was always the same. Kurama was attractive, certainly, (and being a she-demon Kai had no problems admitting this to herself) but she only wanted friendship. 

            "And what about Hiei?" Shizuru asked slyly, sneaking up behind them.

            Kai wasn't fazed. "Same thing." Boton and Shizuru looked at her strangely then let the matter drop. 

            This statement wasn't exactly true. Kai reluctantly conceded, only to herself, that she had a *little* crush on the short fire youkai. However, she was convinced it was a brief infatuation, nothing more, even though he _did have the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen on a demon. _

            Kai first realized this important bit of information about herself last Friday when she had tackled him for teasing her about the ice cream incident. She made a mental note to herself to avoid all physical contact after that. She didn't want to go thinking _those _thoughts again. 

            "Is she okay?" Keiko whispered uncertainly to Boton. 

            "I guess so; she just spaced out," Boton answered. "Did Yusuke ask you yet?"

            "No, but I'm going with him anyway."

            "Oh."

            "What about you, Shizuru?'

            "I'm not going."

            They moved on, leaving Kai to herself. She had a vague idea of what she was looking for, so she set out to find it as quickly as she could. After about another half an hour, she found it. Muttering about absurd ningen prices, Kai left the store to find the other girls. 

            Two weeks passed fairly fast, with the humans teaching the non-human apparitions the art of cosmetics. 

            The afternoon of the party, the only sound coming from Kurama's room what the scraping of a knife being whetted against a stone and a few low voices. 

            "They're all treating this like a game," Kai was saying. "Not that that's entirely a bad thing, but we have to be prepared. As far as I'm concerned, this is a mission like all the others."

            "That's right," Kurama said. Hiei nodded silent agreement.

            "This idea was a very good one, Kurama," Kai said, finishing the last blade and testing it with her thumb. She gave a satisfied smile when it drew a thin trickle of blood. "I was wondering if we were going to be armed. You obviously won't be bothered, but Hiei and I can't exactly hide a katana." 

            "Hn," from Hiei.

            "I'll go give these to the others, then." Kai walked out the door. 

            "Oooh, what are you doing, Kai? You only have an hour and you still aren't dressed!" Boton exclaimed. 

            "What are those for?" Keiko asked cautiously, looking at the knives in Kai's hand. 

            "Have any of you held one of these before?"

            Silent shakes responded.

            "Then these won't be much help if you get in trouble, but they're something."

            Kai distributed the paper-thin blades out among the girls who were attending the party that night. Keiko, Boton, Yukina, and herself. She paused in front of Yukina. "I know you don't want to use this, and I hope you won't have to, but take it anyway." In the short time that she had known her, Kai had taken a genuine liking to Yukina, Hiei's younger sister, who disliked hurting anything. 

            "Alright girls, you can have fun, but remember, this is a mission, so any information will be useful." 

            "But how do we get information?" Keiko asked doubtfully. 

            "Any way you want. But, use your assets if you have to, _all of them."_

"What's that supposed to mean?"

            "Flirting! You know, a few questions placed carefully here and there, appear interested, and, with any luck, they will be spilling secrets like there's no tomorrow."

            The other girls looked scandalized. 

            "If you don't feel comfortable, you don't have to. Eavesdropping is another good idea. Have fun, but remember, we're on a mission!" 

 A/N: Bear with me; I have to describe clothes now! 

            Kai was dressed in a more American variant of the traditional Japanese kimono, a beautiful crimson color that *happened* to match Hiei's eyes very well. It was tight, with short sleeves and a high neck. She wore elbow length black gloves to hide the few scars on her lower arms, which would look unladylike and raise a few uncomfortable questions. Her hair was down, and she had dyed it dark blond, as her natural hair color was strange for humans. She had even managed to cover up the black spiked tips. 

            Kai mastered the art of cosmetics very quickly (nearly everyone suspected her of prior experience) and manipulated blue eyeliner and bronze shadow to make her now completely green eyes more alluring. The gold and pink tinge on her normally pale lips went well with her outfit without making her look blatant. All in all, she looked like a very pretty, very normal, young human. 

            Yukina was wearing a white kimono with a light blue sash (?). Her pretty mint hair was down and floated in wisps across her face. Hiei felt compelled to punch Kuwabara when he saw the way he was looking at his sister, but Kurama and Kai restrained him. 

            Keiko was wearing an attractive light blue color with a shorter skirt than the other girls were. Yusuke was very pleased to say that she was his date. 

A/N: I'm kinda indifferent to Keiko, don't really like her, don't really hate her, so that's why I don't spend a lot of time on her. 

            Boton didn't vary from her traditional blue and pink kimono, but she had used some blue eyeshadow and pulled her hair (which was now dyed black) into an elegant bun. 

            The guys were all wearing black tuxedos and looked very fine indeed. (Kuwabara is excluded. There is nothing anyone can do for him. He will always be ugly and Hiei and Kurama will always be extremely good looking). Hiei looked disgruntled and it was obvious that Kurama was forced to…persuade him to dress up. They were ready to go. 

            Instead of being greeted at the door, the group slipped in the back way, and began mingling with the human crowd. Kai slipped up to the first likely looking subject, a young man who did not appear at all sure of himself. 

            "Hey," she said softly.

            He looked up, startled and nervous. "H-Hey," he stammered. 

            "Enjoying the party?" she asked, keeping her voice soft, and raising it an octave higher than usual. 

            "Yes, thank you. And you?" He asked, recovering somewhat. 

            "Yes, very much. So tell me about yourself."

            Keiko and Yusuke revolved slowly on the dance floor, discreetly spying on the other couples there. 

            Kuwabara nervously approached Yukina to ask her to dance. When she accepted, Hiei had to be restrained by Kurama, who managed to disentangle himself from the group of drooling girls. 

            "We're not getting anywhere," Hiei hissed viciously to Kurama, who had to agree. 

            "Talk to as many people as you can," Kurama suggested.

            "Hn." 

            A few hours passed uneventfully, Yukina left, saying she was tired. Kai decided to take a break from questioning people and walk outside. 

            Kai spotted Hiei standing off to one side, halfway hidden by the bushes. She casually walked over to him. "Found out anything?" she asked in a low voice.

            "I found that ningen girls are empty-headed and like spiky black hair," he said, annoyed. "I don't know how Kurama stands it."

            Kai snickered, trying to muffle the sound. "I'm sure they're not all like that," she said, not sounding at all sure. "I found a whole lot of b/s about the stock market and how these people are planning to make their fortune with it."

            "But there _is a demon here."_

            "You feel it too.'

            "Hai."  

            "I can't locate the source of the energy signal though," she said, fingering the edge of the smooth knife blade. 

            "Where's that baka when you need him?"

            Kai, of course, knew exactly who Hiei was talking about. "I can guess."

            They found Kuwabara sitting in the middle of a circle of teenage girls, telling them a heroic story of how he saved a lot of people from a terrible death. The girls all appeared very impressed. "Ooh, but how did you do it?"

            "Have they no shame?" Kai asked through her teeth. 

            Hiei simply shrugged.

            They hauled him away from the crowd. "Time to go!" Kai whispered.

            "What's up?"

            Kai tool a deep breath patiently. She could see why Hiei was always annoyed with Kuwabara. "We are here looking for a demon. We think we can sense him here, but we do not know where. Or did you forget we were on a mission and not think to use your spirit awareness to locate him?"

            Kuwabara looked a little sheepish but recovered. "Uh, of course I know there's a demon here! Huh, you'd have to be pretty stupid not to know."

            "Where is he?" Hiei asked.

            "Uh, he's uh, somewhere over there," Kuwabara said, gesturing vaguely over to where every single other person attending the party was standing.

            Neither Hiei nor Kai was gifted with an extraordinary amount of patience, and what little they possessed was running out fast. 

            "Grrrrrrrrr! Then go find Yusuke and tell him to look to!"

            "Huh, another shrimp with a temper. Just what I need," Kuwabara muttered as he walked away. 

            "How do you think Kurama's fairing?" 

~*~

            A pair of ice-blue eyes was fixed on one figure standing alone out on the veranda. That had to be him. There was no mistaking that red hair and those brilliant green eyes. She gathered her courage and walked over to him. 

            "Hello."

            "Hello," he replied automatically. He did a double take. Her waist length hair was a thick, silky black that was almost blue. Her creamy white skin seemed to glow with moonlight. She had full, red lips and a pink tinge in her cheeks that gave the suggestion of always faintly blushing. Her large blue eyes sparkled like sapphires. 

            She was tall; her eyes were level with Kurama's. She was shapely and had a fine figure. She wore a simple black dress that was incredibly flattering. 

            "What's your name?" Kurama asked.

            "Lantur. Yours?" Even her voice was enchanting.

            "K-er-Shuuichi." Why had he almost said Kurama? He never said it before…that name just seemed more natural around her…

            "Pleasure." Unlike everyone else here, she seemed genuinely pleased. "Shuuichi, I mean to be serious. I feel a strange presence around you. Am I correct in assuming that you are not human?"

            "You have excellent spirit awareness," Kurama said, hiding his surprise. "You are correct: My right name is Kurama; I am a kitsune demon." Whether or not he should have said that he didn't know, and for once, he didn't care. "Pardon me, but I don't believe you are human either."

            Lantur smiled a dazzling smile. "You're very intelligent, Kurama. Few could have guessed that. I too am a kitsune demon."

            "Is Lantur your true name?"

            She smiled again, softer this time. "It is. Kurama, can I trust you?"

            Kurama hesitated, then replied, "Yes."

            "Then I need to talk to you. Privately." She gently took his arm and led him away down to a more secluded place. 

~ * ~ * ~ 

            Hiei and Kai walked onto the veranda just in time to see Kurama disappear down the path with a strange girl. He didn't seem to be resisting, which was highly unusual to say the least.

            "Now what do you suppose _that's _all about?" Kai asked Hiei.

            He shrugged in response. "Kurama usually avoids girls," he said. Kai also shrugged, and they moved on.

~ * ~ * ~

            Elsewhere, Yusuke, Keiko, and Kuwabara (who had joined them), weren't having much better luck. Everyone they talked to seem to be an ordinary human, and no one looked remotely like a demon. 

            "But demons may be able to look like whatever they want. Remember Rando," Yusuke reminded them. 

            "Who?" Keiko inquired. 

            "Nobody," Yusuke said quickly.

            Out of boredom, Yusuke was more than a little tempted by the offerings of champagne that the passed. Keiko stopped him with the death glare that was her specialty, angrily reminding him that he was underage.

            Yusuke and Kuwabara scowled when they saw Hiei and Kai approaching, with crystal wine glasses filled with amber liquid.

            "Hey, why do they get some," Kuwabara whined.

            "We should be allowed too!" Yusuke said. "After all, I'm the team leader!"

            "We're not underage," Kai said. "And this stuff doesn't affect demons the way it does you humans."

            "Where is that baka kitsune?" They all looked around. Kurama was nowhere in sight. 

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

            Kurama, for the first time in his incredibly long life, felt himself enchanted by the dark beauty of the kitsune Lantur. He was increasingly aware of her gentle touch in his hand, and the way her perfect hips occasionally brushed against his body.

            "What did you want to talk to me about?" he asked, as if in a dream.

            "This." Suddenly she was passionately kissing him, her warm body pressing against his. Kurama gave in to the inevitable and took her into his arms, her perfect shape supple and willing. Reluctantly he broke away.

            "Why…"

            "I need your help," she whispered. "I knew I could trust you."

            "But…"

            She pressed a finger to his lips. "Sometimes you have to trust impulses."

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

DMG: DID I JUST WRITE THAT?!?!?! I have definitely been reading too many Piers Anthony books… That last scene was short, I know, but it's my first ever love scene!!!! *halfhearted cheers* PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I finally got to see Youko!!! YAY!!! He's really good looking. But Hiei's still my favorite ^_^ And CN spelled Youko wrong *frowns* they spelled it 'Yoko' Now I'm not sure which is right, but I've only seen it spelled 'Youko' before, so that's how I think it is. I'm rambling, aren't I? *slaps head* I forgot the disclaimer! MINION!! And, again, thanks for all the positive reviews. I had no idea pplz liked this. And, yes, I'm going to develop the Hiei/Kai relationship slowly. I somehow can't imagine him falling for anything very quickly. He's just not the 'love at first sight' type.

GM: DMG does not own Yu Yu Hakusho. 

DMG: That wasn't creative! I'll have to use my other minions next time. MWA-HA-HA!!

GM: Oh, no!

* ~ * ~ *

            Reluctantly Kurama detangled himself from Lantur's warm embrace. "What did you need help for?" he asked softly.

            Lantur's expression hardened, but remained incredibly beautiful. "A demon," she said. "A kitsune like ourselves. His name…is Mokkan."

            Kurama started. "Mokkan?"

            Lantur nodded. "Yes. He…he took…everything…" Kurama could see that she was fighting off impending tears. Hesitantly, he put a comforting arm around her shoulders.

            "Just a few years ago, I was as happy as any demon could be. I lived with my father, mother, brother, and two sisters. One day, near my 100th birthday, a demon named Mokkan discovered our lair. He demanded that I join him. When I refused, he told me I had one week to change my mind. One week passed, and he returned, again demanding that I join him. Again I refused. Without any warning, he slaughtered my family and burned our home. I fled far away. Now, five years later, he is still pursuing me relentlessly. I had no choice but to seek help. That's why I came to you. I must get revenge upon Mokkan for the death of my family." A determined yet sad look came into Lantur's eyes as she said this, but she shed no tears. 

            "Why don't you cry?" asked Kurama.

            "I shed all my tears a long time ago. I have none left to cry," she answered.

            "I will help you," Kurama whispered. 'I think I'm falling in love' he thought. 

            "Baka kitsune," Hiei muttered. "It's been three hours!"

            "I agree," said Kai.

            "Where is he?" asked Yusuke.

            "Does it look like any of us know?" Kai snapped. Her temper was threatening to explode.

            "Let's go look for him!" Kuwabara shouted.

            They all stared at this rather obvious solution. 

            "Guess it took an idiot to figure that one out," said Hiei.

            "What was that, shrimp?"

            Hiei walked off in the direction where they thought Kurama might be. The others hurried to follow. 

            Kuwabara, who was running ahead, nearly ran full speed (which wasn't much) into Kurama, who was walking in the opposite direction on the path. Lantur was with him. 

            "Who's that?" Kai asked suspiciously. Hiei looked at her. He had thought she was a fairly open and trusting person, for an antisocial demon at least. 

            "Hiei, Kai, Yusuke, Kuwabara, Boton, Keiko, this is Lantur," Kurama said, nodding to each of them. "She's a youkai and wants to help us on the mission." He decided not to tell the rest why she wanted to help; if she wanted to tell the others, that was her business. 

            Nobody decided to question Kurama's decision on telling Lantur the nature of their mission. As the most intelligent member of the group, they respected all of his decisions. And Kai didn't feel, as the newest member, it was her place to question new arrivals. So she kept her mouth shut. 

            "Now that we've got everyone, we should get going now," Keiko suggested. 

            "But where's Lantur going to sleep?" Boton asked. "That is, if you're coming with us."

            "If she doesn't mind, she can sleep at my house," Kurama offered. "My mother is still out of town."

            "I would love to," she replied. 

            "All this lovey-dovey stuff is going to make me gag," Kai muttered to Hiei. He nodded silently. 

            It was a matter of minutes before Kurama, Lantur, Kai, and Hiei stood outside the Minamino apartment. Yusuke, Keiko, and Kuwabara had each returned to their homes, and Boton went back to the Reikai.    

            "Er, Kurama, if you don't mind, I think I'll sleep outside tonight," Kai said.

            "Why?" Kurama asked. He looked afraid that it was somehow his fault. 

            "It's not _you, _Kurama," she said with slight emphasis on the 'you.' "I just like the fresh air."

            "Okay. Call if you need anything." Kurama and Lantur walked into the house.

            Kai leapt up into a nearby tree. 

            "Hey, that's mine!" called Hiei.

            "Not anymore!" Kai settled comfortably on a broad branch. She didn't sense Hiei following her up. (or, maybe she did, and she just didn't care)

            "And that's my branch." 

            Kai nearly fell out of the tree in surprise. "Not anymore," she said grumpily.

            "Hn."  Hiei shoved her over and sat down. She shoved him back. All night, trying to shove each other off the branch, neither got a single wink of sleep. Finally, a few moments before dawn, Kai dropped peacefully off to sleep, her head lolling on Hiei's shoulder. She felt pleasantly warm, and enjoyed a gentle sensation of softly falling through green clouds, until…CRASH!!!!

            "OUCH! You little *bleeeeep*!" She glared up at the trees. "*bleep* you!"

            All down the street, windows opened and neighbors asked in confused voices, "Shuuichi?"

            Kurama, who had leaned out of the window to see what the commotion was, blanched, and drew his head back in. His spotless ningen reputation was now tarnished forever. 

            Five minutes later, a disheveled Kai stomped into the kitchen of the Minamino residence, dusting dirt off her pants.

            "What happened?" Kurama asked. 

            "Nasty, baka, youkai pushed me out of the tree," Kai muttered. 

            "You have a twig in your hair," Lantur pointed out innocently.

            "GRR!!!" Kai yanked it out and proceeded to eat breakfast in furious silence. Inwardly, she was grinning. She wasn't _really_ angry at Hiei; she was just making a point. And it _did feel nice, sitting with him, for a while…_

            Hiei, still sitting in the tree in question, looked at his shoulder where Kai's head had rested. He wouldn't really have mined, if at that moment he had not experienced a strange feeling that he knew was somehow connected with Kai's feminine qualities. He kept telling himself that it wasn't anything, that she was just like the other fighters, just like Kurama, but somehow, deep down, he knew it wasn't true…

A/N: short chappie, I know, but I have strep and I don't feel like writing more for now… So, I made Hiei have some feelings, but I don't think I'll let it develop into anything more for right now…not for a few more chapters. Sometime, I will respond to reviews, but I am incredibly busy with school right now.   

Tell me what you think about Lantur…I had some evil plans for her…*mwa-ha-ha* *cough* But if you don't want her to go then I suppose I could forgive her…anyway, I think this is poor Kurama's last chance for romance, in this fic anyway. 


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: I can't believe they started the whole series over!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am sooo mad! Well, anyway, I got 1 review asking me to keep Lantur in, and 0 reviews asking me to get rid of her. However, I'm starting to get bored of her, so maybe I'll get rid of her anyway. Maybe. 

Disclaimer: *sighs* I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho, so don't sue me, okay?

* ~ * ~ * ~ *

"We have a definite lock on Mokkan's position in the Makai," Koenma's voice said from the television screen in Yusuke's house. 

They were meeting at Yusuke's house because Kurama's mother was back in town, as were Kuwabara's parents, and they decided Yusuke's mother would be least likely to care what they were doing. In attendance were Yusuke, Kuwabara, Hiei, Kurama, Kai, Boton, Keiko, Yukina, and Lantur. They had invited Shizuru, but she declined, saying she had a date with some cute rich guy *coughSakyocough* 

So they were all gathered around the television screen, listening to Koenma talk about the mission. A picture of a dense forest flashed on the screen, looking suspiciously similar to the one near Tarukane's (? Who cares?) mountain stronghold in Ningenkai. The only visible difference was, this one was in Spirit World.

"I know where that is!" Lantur exclaimed. 

The entire room swiveled around to look at her. 

"The problem is," Koenma was saying, "is that we have virtually no idea how long he will be there, or how long it will take _you _to _get _there."

"I know," Lantur said. "The closest possible entrance to the Makai is about ten miles from that spot."

"An easy walk," said Hiei. Kai nodded.

"Wait, but how do we know he'll still be there when we get there?" Yusuke asked. 

"His home is a few days' journey from there. He will be there."

"You seem to know an awful lot about this, missy," Hiei commented. 

Lantur blushed and looked down.

'Now why that reaction?' Kai wondered.

Hiei must have noticed too, because he remained silent and brooding for the rest of the day. 

"Well then, off you go!" Boton exclaimed. She sent the six through the portal into the demon world. 

They stepped out into a clearing in the middle of the forest from the video tape. 

"Which way now?" asked Yusuke.

"Koenma never told us," Kurama said. 

"Kuwabara? Can you sense the spirit energy?"

Kuwabara screwed up his face, turned around a few times, and opened his eyes. "Nope."

: : anime fall : : 

"It's all too muddled," he said, by way of explanation.

"Lantur?" Kai asked. They all looked at the kitsune. She, after all, was supposed to know where they were going. 

She hesitated. "Th-the castle is north…"

Yusuke interrupted her. "Why does EVERYONE in this STUPID world live in CASTLES?!" he exploded. 

"Not everyone," Hiei said. "Just big-shot demons who think they're really special and better than everyone else."

"There are a lot of them," Kurama said.

"And those are the jerks we usually have to fight," Kai added. 

Lantur spoke again, quietly. "But I don't know which way is north…"

Exasperated sighs met this statement. They all looked around. The forest looked exactly the same in all directions.

"We could wait until nightfall, and use the stars," Lantur suggested.

"I'd rather not travel at night," Kurama said.

"What, afraid of the dark?" Kuwabara taunted.

"No, moron, many more dangers lurk in darkness than in light. The fox was concerned for your safety," Hiei said. "Though I can't imagine why," he added under his breath.

Kai's green eye flicked back and forth between the speakers. "I believe I have a solution to our current predicament." Not wasting a moment, she scampered up the nearest tree and poked her head through the leafy canopy. 

She climbed quickly back down after seeing what she needed to see. Kai pointed to the right. "That way."

They set off at a fast pace in the direction Kai indicated. They had not gone far when they were intercepted by a huge demon wielding an axe. Kai wrinkled her nose. 

"Hey, I know that guy's ugly, but aren't demons supposed to be more tolerant of physical differences?" Yusuke asked Kai, whose facial expression left little doubt as to her opinion of the monster. 

She muttered something incoherent under her breath before answering. "No, baka, I know he is ugly, but haven't you idiots tried to breathe in the last five minutes?" 

Soon they all realized something about this demon. "He really stinks!" Kuwabara shouted.

"That's called stating the obvious," Kurama said, holding his nose. Hiei, as usual, maintained his dignity, although his nose twitched and his eyes watered. 

"So who's gonna fight him?" Yusuke gasped. 

"I will!" Lantur said. 'Shouldn't be too hard,' she thought. 'The trick is…' The demon threw his axe directly at the kitsune, who dodged it. Not giving her opponent a chance to recover his weapon, she launched her own attack. Long vines snaked out of the ground to wrap themselves tightly around the monster. They squeezed tighter and tighter, crushing every bone in the unfortunate demon's body. The vines didn't stop until there was nothing left of him but an oozing mass of blood and mutilated remains on the ground.

A/N: I have a minor sadistic streak…

The team could only stare in shock. Yusuke and Kuwabara watched the messy battle with horror. Hiei's face was unreadable. Kai wondered how such a delicate she-demon came up with an attack like that. It just didn't fit. 

Kurama now wore a mixture of apprehension and admiration on his face. 'What a terrific use of plants! I'll have to ask her how she did it…Did I know she could cause that much destruction?' 

Hiei had started to walk again. "Are you all going to stand there gaping like a bunch of idiots and waste more time, or are we going to start moving?"

"Wha-er, yeah, let's go," Yusuke said, snapping out of his trance. 

Lantur surveyed her handiwork, smiling. 'That had the desired effect…' A chilling wind that only she could feel wrapped itself around her. It seemed to whisper words in her ear… She shivered and hurried to catch up to the others. She felt weak, and dizzy. On impulse, she stumbled over to Kurama. Lantur tried not to show it, but that attack had taken a great deal of energy. 

"Are you alright?" Kurama asked her.

"Yes, I'll be fine. Don't worry," she replied, putting on a brave face. 

"Good." Kurama put his arm protectively around Lantur. She leaned gratefully into his shoulder. She couldn't help but feel a little guilty…

Kai watched with narrowed eyes and a small frown. Everyone else attributed this to her unpredictable temper, but Hiei wondered why. Was it because she was jealous…? Of what? Hiei suddenly felt unreasonably angry. He strode ahead of the others, wishing he could vent on someone.

Kuwabara remained blissfully unaware of the mounting tension in the group, but Yusuke felt like he would explode if somebody did not explain. Finally, he did. "WILL SOMEBODY TELL ME WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?! I FEEL LIKE I'M IN THE MIDDLE OF A FRICKIN' SOAP OPERA!" he yelled. 

"More than you know," Lantur said, glaring at Kai. Kai glared back. They matched each other, glare for glare, until Yusuke motioned for them to get going. 

"All right, you won't tell me. But we _do _have a mission to complete."

"Now that the entire forest has been alerted to our presence," Hiei muttered. 

"They already know," Kai replied. 

"Explain yourself."

"Later."

The day passed relatively uneventfully, with only a few minor skirmishes with a few low-class demons. One of the team easily took care of all of them. As the sun set, the team knew it was time to make camp for the night. 

"Here we are," Lantur announced. 

"Where?" Kuwabara asked, clueless as usual. 

"The place from the tape," Kurama answered. 

"Oh."

"So," Yusuke said, "do we press on or stay here for the night?"

Kai felt that they should press on, for she began to sense an ominous feeling in the supposedly innocent clearing. Hiei and Kurama also, were for moving, because they felt the sooner this mission was over, the better. Yusuke and Kuwabara wanted to stay, because they were tired and decided this was probably going to be the best place they'd find for a while, and Lantur was also visibly fatigued. They decided to vote. Kai and Hiei voted go, Yusuke and Kuwabara said stay. Lantur, not wanting to appear weak, abstained, but it was clear she was too weary to travel much further. She needed to stay for another reason, but she didn't want to think about that…

Kurama's was the deciding vote. He almost said leave, but the sight of Lantur's face swayed him. He considered, then said, "We stay."

Kai shrugged off the bad feeling, and busied herself setting up her makeshift bed. Yusuke and Kuwabara were the only ones who needed sleeping bags, the others being more accustomed to spending the night outside. Hiei offered to sit up as sentry, not needing as much rest. Kurama settled between the roots of a large oak tree, and Lantur curled up beside him. Kai buried herself in the soft, warm loam and fell asleep instantly. 

Hiei listened to the soft breathing of the peaceful sleepers, the chirp of the crickets, and other familiar nighttime sounds. The moon was beautiful that night, and the stars shone brightly. Nowhere in Ningenkai was it quite so lovely as the country in Makai. He sat back and cast his awareness around for disturbing signs, but found none. Closing his eyes, he let his thoughts drift off to wherever they usually go…far away…

__

Eyes, looking at him. So many eyes. Golden amber, calculating brown, ice blue, blood red. A pair, staring straight at him…brilliant green. The silhouette of a she-demon… She faded, and was replaced by the eyes. A roaring behind him, and his entire body was engulfed in a fiery blaze, pain rushing through him, raw power burning his hands… Black Dragon Wave…

Hiei sat up bolt upright, breathing heavier than he usually would. His mental clock told him he had only been asleep for a few minutes…a few very disturbing minutes. He raised his face to the night breeze, trying to wash away the feeling of the dream. But wait. The air in the clearing had changed. It became thicker, almost sickly sweet. Hiei jumped down from the tree he had been sitting in and went over to Kurama. The kitsune had a troubled look on his usually calm face. 

"Kurama!" Hiei whispered fiercely. "Kurama, wake up!" But nothing happened. Kurama would not wake up. "Kai!" The cat demon would not wake either. "Yusuke!" No one would. Troubled, Hiei sat by the smoldering embers of the campfire to await the coming of dawn. 'There is a bad feeling about this place. We should not have stayed here…'

A black shadow hung over the small camp, evilly seeking out its next victim…

__

He stood, paralyzed with fear, in a dark room. Thin hands, as cold as death, wrapped themselves around his neck. "As a fighter, I like you _the best, Kurama…" Pale fingers twisted themselves in his vibrant red hair. The emotionless yet passionate voice spoke… "And when I like something, I like to take it away…" Their touch filled him with unimaginable dread. He felt the darkness closing in. "…It gives you a feeling of despair that makes you feel so real…" A bead of sweat trickled down his forehead…his beautiful green eyes dilated with fear… "I know you fear what my touch can do to you, yet, maybe, you also want to know…" _

"Get away!"

Kurama's eyes snapped open. He slowly sat up, shaking madly. He looked down at his hands and recalled the memory that had prompted the dream. How many years had it been, since the Dark Tournament…and he still had nightmares…nightmares of the powerful demon Karasu. Even thinking the demon's name brought a horrible feeling to the pit of Kurama's stomach. Kurama settled back down and tried desperately to calm himself, stroking Lantur's midnight black hair. 

Lantur felt the motion and moaned in her sleep, knowing she would not be spared. Better to get it over with. 

__

Lantur watched as a young woman, strikingly beautiful in her innocence, ran blissfully through a golden field. She heard laughter ring through the woman's home. Her soft, warm, blue eyes lit up with pleasure as a young boy, also with black hair and blue eyes, scampered up to meet her. The woman took the child in hand and walked peacefully off toward home…

The scene changed…another day. Dark clouds gathered overhead. Screaming, screaming…running through her head. The woman clutched her face and moaned softly, trying to shut out the sounds of her dying family. Deep laughter, as cold as the winter snows, rang in her ears. "No…no…"

"Come."

"No…" More screams…then silence.

The menacing figure chuckled. "I have severed your last ties."

"No…" 

Without a word, the figure with the amber eyes raised his hand.

"All right…" she sobbed. "All right…"

Lantur, over time, watched the woman's eyes become hard, like the amber ones from both the dream, and the reality. "No…" 

Lantur awoke to find herself with silent tears streaming down her face. Was this a warning? Or just a detached memory? She shook the feeling away. Lantur turned to look at Kurama, resting next to her. The knots in her stomach tightened. She reached up to touch his face, and felt a pang she had never experienced before. It was one of regret, and sorrow, and love…

__

Kuwabara looked around at an interesting scene. It was all white, with white tablecloths and white napkins and silver dishes. Roses adorned everything. White roses, red roses, pink roses, yellow roses. It reminded him strongly of Kurama. He turned and beheld a familiar face. He recognized the minty hair, the kind, crimson eyes. His love…Yukina! Kuwabara came to a startling conclusion about the setting. It was a wedding! So that was why Yukina was wearing such a beautiful white dress. She was the bride… Everyone was there. The maids of honor – Keiko, Boton, Shizuru, and Kai. The best man – Kurama?! 'Wait, where's the shrimp?' Kuwabara wondered. It seemed odd he was not there. 'And what about Yusuke?' No offense to Kurama, but surely he _would have been the best man. Something was very odd. _

There was Yusuke, leading Yukina down the aisle in place of her father. That made sense, Yukina didn't have a father. Kuwabara felt mounting excitement rising in his chest. He was going to marry Yukina! All through the ceremony, he watched only Yukina. When the priest finally said, "You may kiss the bride," the groom turned around. HIEI?!?! The fire youkai seemed to smirk directly at him, Kuwabara, as he kissed Yukina passionately on the lips. HIEI?! Kuwabara felt himself falling through clouds of darkness, plunging through dreams into the waking world…

A/N: I am not a hentai, it was just a dream…

Kuwabara clutched a trembling hand to his chest, trying to calm down. "Pull it together, Kuwabara! It was just a dream!" he told himself. But he glared all the same at Hiei's back, on the other side of the campfire. He was a threat to HIS love, Yukina. Yukina was his! 

A/N: Kuwabara, you paranoid freak…As if it wasn't obvious…

_Kai felt an overwhelming sense of loss. It was the future, she could tell, but she had no idea how far, or what place. It seemed familiar, but she couldn't quite place the setting. She touched her heart, where she felt only an empty void. The grief was threatening to engulf her, but she had no idea what it was she lost. Her dream self gave a hollow laugh. 'So this is why demons reject love…not because it is a feeling for the weak, but because they are afraid…' The real Kai could only watch in horror at her future self. Where were the icy walls she had worked so hard to construct around her heart? Who had melted them? And what was the burning feeling inside her chest? What was it that she lost? She looked again at herself in the picture. She had now taken out an elegantly ornamented knife, with black tear gems set in silver on the hilt. It was a beautiful thing, and reminded her strongly of someone…but she couldn't remember who… Now Kai was merging with her other self, saw the blade as she did…the razor sharp edge. How nice it would be…oblivion…no pain…The keen blade drew closer. The cold point touching her breast…_

"NO!"

Eyes wide with fear, Kai snapped awake. She was shaking madly like a leaf,her entire body drenched with cold sweat. She lifted her hand to touch the place on the left side of her chest, the place where the knifepoint entered…

_In his dream, Yusuke felt warm and pleasant. Someone was sleeping peacefully beside him…Keiko! He was astonished to see that she wore a golden ring, and that he wore one just like it. So they were…married… Yusuke couldn't help but feel all was right with the world. Even some demon coming to take over couldn't ruin this moment. How wrong he was. The clouds darkened and turned a shade of black. Yusuke could feel the raw power in the air. It was threatening to consume him… "I'll fight!" he shouted to no one in particular. _

"Very well then," a deep demonic voice said. "You will fight…and you will lose…"

"I…I…lost…" Yusuke gasped. The concept was new to him. And this was not some silly tournament. This was real life…and he lost. "Keiko!" he cried out. 

"Yusuke!" Then her screams drowned out every other sound. 

Yusuke was forced to look at the destruction all around him. He could smell death heavy on the air. He felt responsible for the desolation, somehow. He knew that it was his fault. The death of…everyone. Everyone he really cared about was dead, because of him, his loss. 

"Halfhearted," he heard Genkai say again. 

"Genkai!" he exclaimed. The small voice of reason in the back of his mind told him that she was dead…but he didn't care.

Then she faded…and he saw once again the result of his halfhearted fighting…death…destruction…total annihilation… 

"NO!"

"Yusuke!" Kuwabara called. "Yusuke, wake up!" He started slapping him.

"NO!" Yusuke shouted, leaping up with his fist raised. "I won't let it happen!"

Yusuke realized that everyone was staring at him. 

"Nightmares, correct?" Kai asked. 

"Yeah…" Yusuke answered, massaging his face. "But it seemed so real…"

The others nodded. "You all - all of you – had nightmares, too?" Kuwabara asked. More nods. 

"Maybe we should share," Lantur suggested. They agreed.

"Yusuke first."

"Well…I dreamed…that Keiko and I were married, and that we were very happy…but then…someone…wanted to take over the world again…I tried to stop it…but I couldn't, and I saw Genkai…everyone…" his voice broke. 

"We understand."

Hiei went next. "Eyes. I dreamed about eyes. And…the Black Dragon Wave…" There was more, but what happened after he woke up and fell asleep again was his business.

Kai's turn. "I – I lost something…that was very important to me, but I don't know what it was…I had a knife…a beautiful one…I – I…suicide…" she ended in a whisper.

The others looked at her. None of them had died in their dreams…so far. 

Kurama looked nervous. "Karasu…Dark Tournament…" It was enough. Everyone knew what he meant. 

"Karasu…" Kai said slowly. "Wasn't he that…*guy* in the Dark Tournament, Team Toguro, that Kurama killed?" 

"Yes, he was," Hiei replied. 

"How do you know that?" Kuwabara asked.

"I was there," she answered. 

"I dreamed about my family," Lantur said matter-of-factly, although her voice broke slightly. 

"Kuwabara?" Yusuke prompted. 

"I, well, if you must know…" he started.

"Get on with it!" 

"I, uh, well…Yukinamarriedtheshrimp!" 

"WHAT?!" everyone shouted. 

Hiei's face turned bright flaming red, right up to his ears. He looked torn about whether he would roast Kuwabara on an open spit, or chop him to pieces with his katana. 

Yusuke was rolling around on the ground, unable to control his laughter. Kurama tried to remain impassive, but in the end, had to burst out laughing. Kai looked like she might be able to control herself, but she ended up laughing just as hard as Yusuke and Kurama. 

"Hey, it was scary!" Kuwabara protested.

"Ha, ha," Kai gasped. "And you don't know the half of it!"

Hiei continued to fume. "IT IS NOT FUNNY!!!" 

"Aw, poor baby!"

They continued to laugh helplessly for several minutes. No one noticed someone slipping quietly away to the edge of the clearing, in the shade of the trees…

Kai sobered herself as the memory of her own dream came to mind.

"Is something the matter?"

She smiled gently at Kurama. "No, nothing really. I'll be fine."

"Dreams are rarely prophetic, you know."

"Thank you," she replied. "In Hiei's case, he better hope they're not prophetic," she laughed jokingly. 

"I agree," said Kurama. 

"Enough of that!" Hiei snapped. "Don't you all think it odd that we all dreamed like that on the same night?" 

"It is odd," agreed Kurama. 

"I think we should leave this place right now," said Yusuke.

"Where's Lantur?" asked Kurama.

"Right here." She returned, and walked up to Kurama, kissing him lightly on the cheek. She smiled when he blushed, and thought, 'I'm going to make the most of this…while it lasts…'

A/N: I think this is my longest chapter yet! I probably won't be updating for a while, because I am really busy with schoolwork and graduation and parties and stuff. Remember to review and tell me whether you want Lantur to stay or go. It might make a difference; it might not. BUT REVIEW ANYWAY!!! OR ELSE!!!!

Sister: Hey, look at these pics of Hiei, Kurama and Youko!!!

DMG: *drools*

Sister: Aren't they cool?

DMG: *hyperventilating* 

Sister: Well, that's all for now, she'll be like that for a while…


	6. Chapter 6

DMG: Well, I think I will be finishing up this case soon, aaaaand… I have an announcement! Lantur is OUT!!!!! After a miserable response the first time, I have received many vehement reviews telling me to get rid of her. Since that was what I intended for her in the first place, I will go at it with a vengeance.  

DMG: And in the dark forest of the Makai they were forced to eat Robin's minstrels…er, they were forced to torture the demon Lantur, and there was much rejoicing. (Monty Python. I don't own it)

Reikei Tantei: *waves little flags* Yay.

DMG: On with the torture! Or, er, the fic…

Aoshi: You forgot the disclaimer.

DMG: How did you get here? This is not your universe!

Saitou: Baka authoress.

DMG: AHHHH!!!!! 

Kenshin: DMG does not own Yu Yu Hakusho, that she does not! ^_^

Aoshi: Or Rurouni Kenshin, but that has almost no relevance whatsoever to this fic. 

DMG: And I'm certainly not making any money off this, so leave me alone with my delusions. 

* ~ * ~ * ~ *

        "Explain yourself," Hiei said crossly.

        "Explain what, Hiei?" Kai asked innocently.

        "Yesterday. You said, 'They already know.' What is that supposed to mean?" Hiei's tone told her he was not in the mood for messing around. 

        Kai sighed. "Drop behind," she muttered.

        He nodded, and started to walk slower.

        "We've been followed."

        Hiei took it as a matter of course. It really wasn't all that big of a deal. They had been followed before. "For how long?

        Kai frowned. "Since we entered Makai. Maybe before."

        "Who?"

        She shrugged. "All I know is they tracked us too quickly for me," she said darkly. 

        Now it was Hiei's turn to frown. "You are suggesting…that _someone_ is…passing information?" 

        She hesitated, then nodded. "Yes…it makes sense," Kai said, running her hand through her glossy hair.

        "That's a serious accusation."

        She smiled ruefully. "I know."

        "Assuming this is true, who do you suspect?"

        "I won't say, right now at least."

        "That's just as well. I wouldn't do that to him, not unless I was absolutely certain."

        Kai nearly stared; she caught herself in time. "R-right." _Hiei? Caring about somebody else? Now _that _would be worth looking into…_ Still, it wasn't all that strange, Kai told herself a little while later. She knew (despite his protests) that he really _did care about Kurama, at least, his best friend. _I wish he would care about _me _like that… _The traitorous little thought slipped in her head as soon as she dropped her guard. It had been happening more and more as time went by. _

        "Dammit!" Yusuke shouted. "Where _are they?" Five minutes ago, they had realized that Hiei and Kai were missing._

        "Where are who?" Kai asked, suddenly right behind Yusuke

        "AHHHHH!" Yusuke cried. "When did you get here?!" 

        "What are you talking about? I was always here." Kai feigned innocence. 

        "Freaky," Kuwabara muttered. 

        "Maybe you, moron, should sharpen your senses," Hiei commented. 

        "ARHGGG!" 

        They walked in relative quiet, the occasional bicker breaking out between Hiei and Kuwabara, but that was normal. Kai felt the weak energies of their pursuers, and by now she knew that Kuwabara, at least, with his exceptional awareness, must also sense it.

        "Uh – guys?" Kuwabara asked. "Just thought you should know – we're being followed."

        Exasperated sighs met this statement, complete with anime sweatdrops.  Everyone else, of course, had already been aware of this fact long since. 

        Hiei's comment earned him a disapproving look from Kai, large green eyes reproachful. 

        _Great, _he thought irritably. _All I need is to have _her_ angry at me. _Kai and those eyes of hers were largely the source of his irritation, them and those feelings they stirred up deep in his soul. Or, wherever those pathetic sap-lovers said they should be. 

        "Let's just hurry up," he growled. 

        Lantur, walking close beside Kurama, announced that they could reach the stronghold by the next day.

        "Let's camp here," she said. "It's such a lovely spot!"

        Kai had to restrain herself from mimicking her rudely. After all, Kurama liked her, for some reason she couldn't fathom. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. 

        "That sounds good!" Kuwabara said. "My feet are tired from all this walking!" 

        "Hn," Hiei said while muttering something indistinguishable about humans. 

        "I don't care one way or the other," Kai said.

        "Then it's agreed," said Yusuke. 

        As everyone prepared to bed down for the night, Kai nodded to Hiei. A slight gesture, one no one would pick up on. But Hiei knew what it meant. 

        He settled comfortably at the entrance to the cave Lantur had chosen as camp. He noted the defenses with satisfaction; no one could possibly enter the cave without being seen. Then again, no one could get out, either. Or could they?

        Lantur cautiously opened her eyes. It was dark; that was good. She stopped to brush a stray red hair away form Kurama's face and let him sleep. She didn't dare let out a sigh of regret; too many of these demons knew what they were about, and even the big stupid one had sharp senses. She stepped outside the cave and felt two cold metal points touching her throat.

        "One move, and you're a dead fox," Hiei's voice said from the shadows.

        "Exactly what do you think you are doing?" Kai snarled.

        Lantur cursed herself for not checking to see that everyone was asleep. "I – I was…"

        "Just as I thought."

        "You have no idea how _fervently I am wishing now that I was wrong," Kai said softly. "But wishes cannot change facts, now can they Lantur?" _

        "This isn't what it looks like!" Lantur pleaded desperately.

        Hiei shot her a look of such contempt that she fell silent. 

        "Were that it in my power to make you regret the day your father kissed your mother," Kai snapped. "Unfortunately, I believe that is Kurama's choice." She looked to Hiei. He nodded. 

Kurama was up in an instant. Realization dawned on him as he assessed the scene outside. Ice filled his green eyes. Jaw tightening, he strode up to Hiei and whispered in his ear.

Hiei grimaced, but motioned for Kai and left anyway. Yusuke and Kuwabara, who were just now rubbing sleep from their eyes, followed also.

Alone, Kurama stared levelly at Lantur. "Why?"

Her blue eyes filled with tears. "I had to."

His gaze did not soften. "What about your family?" he pressed. "What about all the things he did to you? Or did you lie about that as well?"

"No!" she burst out. "It's just that…It was all so very long ago, and he can be very…persuasive."

"Go," Kurama said. "Go crawl back to him or slink off by yourself. I do not care. But I do not ever want to see you again. Is that clear?"

She nodded, and swallowed. As he turned to go, her eyes turned suddenly resolute. Kurama felt rather than saw the knifepoint enter her breast. Sparing half a glance backwards, he saw her body stretched out in the grass, silver fox ears and tail gleaming in the moonlight. Tears still shimmered on her lashes. 

* ~ * ~ * ~ *

DMG: Well, that one took a while. I thought I'd have _more time to work on this now that school's out, but instead I have less! Sorry about the delay. I have good news and bad news: no more Kurama torture, and Lantur's dead. Oh wait, did I say bad news? ^_^_

Hiei: Read and Review! OR ELSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Random People of Audience: X_X


	7. Chapter 7

DMG: Thanx for all the reviews! Sorry this is taking so long, I never seem to have any time since the summer started! I never meant for this mission to drag on so long – I'm going to need a few more chapters to wrap it all up!!!! After that, I can get into more romance… Sorry for the relatively short chapters, I'm really trying! 

Nothing has changed since last time ~ I still don't own Yu Yu Hakusho! 

* ~ * ~ * ~ *

        Two pairs of eyes widened in surprise and horror. As you may have guessed, these eyes belonged to Yusuke and Kuwabara, who were spying. Kai and Hiei were also watching, against their will and better judgement. They argued that Kurama didn't want to be observed; Yusuke pointed out that he would be watched anyway, so it didn't matter. 

        "Did you see that?" Yusuke asked.

        "I'm not blind!" protested Kuwabara.

        "Really?" Kai asked sarcastically. 

        "I gotta go talk to him," Yusuke said, starting to get up.

        Kai jerked him back down by the collar. "Don't do that!" she hissed. "It will only make it worse. He doesn't need your sympathy!"

        "Hn," agreed Hiei. "Demons are much stronger than you pathetic ningens."

        Kurama sighed deeply then turned around. "You can all come out now." 

        The four miscreants disentangled themselves from the bushes. 

        "Uh, heh heh," Yusuke grinned. 

        SMACK! Yusuke fell on the ground. Kai stood over him, fist raised.

        "Wha was that for?"

        "For being an insensitive jerk."

        "But-" She cut him off and turned away.

        "You just said –"

        "I don't understand women," Kuwabara complained.

        "For once I agree with you," muttered Yusuke.

        "I'm all right, truly I am," Kurama said to Kai.

        She raised an eyebrow.

        "This has happened before."

        "REALLY?" Kuwabara asked. He had walked up to join them. "When? I thought you didn't date!"

        Kai slapped a hand to her forehead in exasperation. Hiei rolled his eyes. 

        "He _is_ about 1500 years old."

        "Oh." SMACK!

        "I see stars," Kuwabara giggled.

        Kurama laughed lightly. "Youko has more experience in these areas. He would have suspected something right away. I suppose Shuuichi (?) is still quite innocent in some ways. He will learn."

        Kai smiled. "You know, Kurama, you're a lot tougher than you look."

        "Thank you."

        Yusuke whispered to Hiei, because Kuwabara was still seeing stars, "Isn't it a sign of insanity when you begin to talk about yourself in third person?"

        Kai heard. SMACK! BAM! Yusuke ducked just in time to receive only two grazing blows on opposite sides of his head. Hiei's loose fist collided with Kai's open palm. Her fingers closed around his. Realizing what she was doing Kai dropped her hand with a slight blush. 'Good thing it's dark,' she thought. 

        They decided to move on, because no one thought they would get much sleep that night. Hiei studied his hand while no one was looking. What had she done? And what the hell did it do to him?! Kai was both frustrating and confusing. 

        "Kuso!" he cursed softly under his breath. There was no time for those kinds of thoughts. They were on a mission. 

        The sun rose behind a bleak layer of gray clouds. "There!" Yusuke shouted. 

        "Where?" (Must I explain who said this?)

         "Right in front of you, moron," Hiei said.

        "Who would want to live in an ugly place like that?" Kai asked.

        Kurama opened his mouth.

        "I know it's good for defense; those walls sure do look difficult to breach, but they all let intruders in by the front door! It's a waste of work, building that thing. And it's really ugly!" Kai finished. 

        The boys just shrugged. It didn't matter anyway. 

        "What are we waiting for?" Yusuke asked. "Let's move!"

        Dark clouds rumbled close overhead. Before the unfortunate Reiki Tantei had gone a step, the heavens opened up and dumped rain by the buckets on their heads. 

        They ran towards the castle. Strangely, they did not have to fight their way inside.

        "I don't like this you guys," Kuwabara said nervously.

        "This is not a walk in the park, moron! You're not supposed to like it!" Hiei snapped. 

        "Let's just continue," Kai said, ignoring them. "I'm sure Mokkan is not going to make this easy for us. We should be on our guard." She had changed to her full-demon form. 

        "Demons like this like to have challengers waiting at set intervals," Kurama observed. 

        "Right, we'll keep an eye out," said Yusuke. "Come on, Kuwabara!" 

        (Kuwabara had been staring vacantly into space for the duration of this conversation.)

        Kurama proved correct, as always. The first challenger was waiting in an open chamber at the end of the first hall. 

        It was a fairly impressive looking beast, with no distinguishing characteristics and no apparent weapon. So it would be a fistfight, then.

        "Who's going to fight?" asked Yusuke.

        Kai didn't volunteer. She disliked fistfights; they were not her specialty. Besides, it was no fun without weapons.

        "I will!" declared Kuwabara. 

        "I think the rest of us should move on."

        "Hn."

        "Catch up when you're done, Kuwabara!" shouted Yusuke.

        "Hope you're ready to die, human!" the demon shouted as he began the charge.

        The group left with the sound of the battle in their ears. The next corridor was a long one, twisting and turning in an attempt to dishearten trespassers that managed to fight past the first demon. But it too opened into a large stone chamber with a demon standing in the middle. 

        This one was vaguely canine in appearance, though Kai could not name its exact species. It was of middling stature, though much taller and heavier than Kai herself, or any of the Reiki Tantei, for that matter. What was interesting about this one was the large chain scythe that the demon gripped in its hands.

        "I'll take this one."

        "Are you sure about this, Kai?" Yusuke asked her incredulously.

        She gave him a flat-eyed stare. "You think I can't handle it?"

        "But he's twice the size of you!" he protested.

        "You should have learned by now that size doesn't matter in the demon world," she replied calmly. 

        "That thing could split you in two."

        Kai put her hands on her hips and drew herself up. "This is because I'm female, isn't it?! I thought you of all people would know that gender doesn't matter in the demon world, either."

        Yusuke began to protest once more, but Kurama spoke first.

        "Give it up, Yusuke," he said.

        "Let her fight," growled Hiei.

        Kai gave him an oddly satisfied glance. She stepped into the chamber. "The rest of you, go!" She waited until their footsteps had faded away before turning to the demon. "I wonder if you can swing that thing properly?"

        "Want to find out, pussy cat?"

        "I hope she'll be alright," said Yusuke worriedly. "I'm starting to get to like her."

        "She'll be fine," said Kurama. 

        "A weapon like that is very powerful," said Hiei, "but is no use at all if the opponent is fast enough to dodge the attack. Kai is very fast; she should have no problem."

        Yusuke still didn't look convinced, so Kurama pointed out that they had troubles of their own ahead.

        "You're right," he conceded. 

* ~ *

DMG: That took me FOREVER to write. I decided to stop there because I had no more ideas for people to fight. And, of course, I wanted to get this up. I AM IN DESPERATE NEED OF REVIEWS!!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE CLICK THE NICE LITTLE BUTTON!!!!!!!! ^_^


	8. Chapter 8

DMG: I am SOOOO sorry for the long wait for the update! I was suffering from a MAJOR writer's block, and once I got rid of that, I suffered from a serious lack of inspiration. *sighs* How depressing. But, yes, I AM back in the YYH game! *waves little flag* 

No, my plans to snatch the copyrights to Yu Yu Hakusho have been foiled YET AGAIN. I still don't own it. What a bummer.

* ~ * ~ *

*When we left off, Kuwabara was fighting the first demon, which had no weapons and no distinct species, and Kai took on the second one, which was canine in appearance and had a large chain scythe (like the one Kamatari had in Rurouni K)* 

            "I still hope we made the right decision when we left them behind," Yusuke worried.

            "I thought we went over this already," said Hiei, annoyed. 

            "Focus on the task at hand," Kurama said, for what must have been the fifth time in three minutes. 

            "Well, if you guys say so…"

            "You're beginning to sound like an old woman." 

            "Hey!"

            "It's true."

            Kurama shook his head as they hurried along the winding corridor. "Now you both sound like bickering children," he said.

            "Hn," Hiei said, and caught up to Kurama, to resume glaring at him.

            Yusuke pouted. 

            Hiei and Kurama suddenly stopped short. Yusuke, who, as usual, wasn't paying attention, walked straight into them.

            "Ow!" he said. 

            "It appears we have met our third challenger," Kurama observed calmly. 

            "Hn." (guess who ^_^' )

            (I think I'll leave you hanging now. I know you're absolutely DYING to know how Kuwabaka is fairing)

            Kuwabara and the anonymous demon were evenly matched in both strength and intelligence, which isn't saying much for either of them. However, this led to a bit of a stalemate. 

            "Come on, can't you do any better than that?" gasped Kuwabara, who was bleeding rather heavily and had bruises all over his body.

            "You're pathetic even for a weak human!" the youkai snarled, baring sadly short fangs. 

            Oh, dear. Battle of the idiots.

            "Fine then!" said Kuwabara, striking a heroic pose. "I'll finish you off! SPIRIT SWORD!!!!!!" 

            And, with an oddly demented yell that sounded strangely like a dying cow Kuwabara charged the demon with his last stand. (*dum, da dum!!)

            Kuwabara ran straight at the demon, much like a rabid bull would do. The demon snarled once again and readied his dull claws. 

            "DIEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" And with that, the rei ken slashed the demon down the middle. 

(Kami, what a horrible action sequence!)

            Kai, however, was also locked dead in battle. Her bright eyes narrowed in concentration. She hadn't broken a sweat yet, but neither had her opponent. She dodged the heavy ball at the end of the chain. It whistled by her, ruffling her hair and reminding the neko what a close call it had been. 'I'm faster,' she thought. 'If he can't hit me he can't do anything…'

            On the flip side, if he _did_ manage to hit her, by chance, it would be the end. That weapon was heavy enough to be fatal even if it was only a glancing blow. And, even though he couldn't hit her, she had so far not gotten close enough to score much on him. It was going to be a tedious fight.

            The demon watched the neko girl with new respect in its sharp eyes. He hadn't hit her yet. No fight had ever lasted this long before. He too, would have to be far more careful…

            Kai backed against a wall, chest heaving. She noticed her location and thought… "Oh, shit!'

(I could be really really really mean and end it. I could.)

            Kai thought of an incredibly desperate move. The scythe blade was coming down, she only had a few seconds…here it was…she swung the katana. 'Don't break! PLEASE don't break!' The chain wrapped around her sword. Kai whirled the sword and threw it across the room. Aided by the extra weight of the chain, it swung in a heavy arc and threw the demon off balance.

            'Now…' she thought desperately. Kai darted as fast as she could behind the demon. While he was still distracted by the off balance of his weapon, she pulled her belt knife and advanced. Suddenly she leapt, landing on the demon's back. He turned a second too late, and the Kai drove the keen blade into the back of his neck, killing him instantly.

(*whew* That was tiring!)

            "I will fight this one," Hiei stated. It was not a question. 

            Yusuke gave him a worried look. "Are you sure? That thing's freakin' huge!"

            "What is with you today and being a mother hen?" Hiei snapped back. "I said I would fight it, and I will."

            Kurama shook his head, and gave them each a long-suffering look. Did they really have to go at it like that all the time?

(Yes, Kurama-chan, they do)

            "Go on ahead," said Hiei. 

            Kurama nodded and continued, dragging Yusuke along with him. (Now that's an interesting mental picture, is it not? Almost like Kurama cursing… *giggles*

            Hiei faced the dragon, and smirked. It was not a large one, contrary to whatever Yusuke thought. He had fought larger and stronger models of the species, and knew how to handle them. 

            It hissed, steam curling beneath its fangs. 

*  ~ * ~ * ~ *

DMG: I feel like stopping here. I'm sick… Sorry that this chappie isn't up to the usual standards. 

Before I forget, my friend wants to send a message to all InuYasha fans out there:  

Shadow's Assassin: Do you love Sesshoumaru? Do you hate seeing him paired with Kagome? Do you love Inu/Kag pairings and hate Kikyo? Then please read my story, titled for now "How I Messed Up Everything" And Review!

DMG: *grumbles* I can't believe I'm advertising… but, hey it works both ways. She says she's not getting enough reviews. Poor baby! Gomen ne for the short chappie! 


	9. Chapter 9

DMG: I am so depressed. I have this huge, major writer's block and I feel like I can't write at all. To top it all off, I'm sick. Not nice. I will get through the action scenes as quickly as possible, because that's really not my forte AND I SUCK. I am a romance/humor writer, for cryin' out loud! I might put a little fluff in here soon, maybe… I need fluff to survive. *sighs* 

Hiei and Kurama: It's okay, we love you anyway.

DMG: Really? *sniffs* Thanks guys, you're the best! *hugs them* 

Random Muse: Well, it appears DMG is busy at her little pity party right now, so I'm here to tell you that she doesn't own YYH.

DMG: *sees muse* There you are! Where have you been! I need creativity!

Muse: I was…on vacation? 

DMG: GYAHHHHH!!! *lunges*

Hiei and Kurama: *sweatdrop*

* ~ * ~ *

            Kuwabara ran desperately along the twisting stone passageway, trying to catch up to the rest of the team. The fight had taken a long while, and he was afraid he might get left behind. 

He stopped at a large room. "Huh?" he asked himself. "Who did this?" A demon was lying face down on the floor, seeped in a dark substance, which pooled in a thick mass around the body. It took Kuwabara a moment to realize it was blood. "Ewwwww!" The thing had a ghastly wound in the back of its neck. Its weapon, a wicked-looking scythe, lay flung across the room.

Kuwabara backed away slowly then fled down the corridor.

Kai wasted no time after she ascertained the fact that her opponent was dead. She retrieved her sword and knife, and wiped the blades on the demon's garments. Then she assessed the damage to herself. A few scratches, bruises where she had not been careful enough. Nothing life-threatening, nothing that could not be taken care of later. Then she noticed a long, shallow cut that sliced the length of her right arm. 'How did I get that?' she wondered to herself. She had no recollection of being hurt. Kai shrugged, and left the battle scene in search of her teammates. 

Hiei's breath was coming raggedly. He had been fighting all out against a dragon for what seemed like an eternity. Now he knew why this dragon was smaller than usual. The thing was agile and quick. It could maneuver well in the enclosed area. And it had airspace. 

Hiei cursed under his breath. He had three identical long, jagged gashes across his chest where he hadn't been quick enough to avoid the dragon's claws. His katana was virtually useless, as the dragon's dully shining black scales could not be cut. That left one option. The Black Dragon Wave. 

Hiei hesitated to use his ultimate weapon. For one, he wasn't sure even if that was enough to finish the thing off. He had heard somewhere that a dragon's scales had enchantments on them, making them impenetrable to any attack. Second, it would drain all his energy, and make him completely useless for the rest of his team afterwards. But he had little choice. Sometimes it was best to fight fire with fire. 

"So." Kurama and Yusuke whirled at the sound. "It appears some of you have made it to the end after all," a deep voice spoke from the shadows. "You Spirit Detectives really are amusing." The voice now held a hint of mocking. 

"You know, Kurama, doesn't it get annoying how _everyone we fight underestimates us?"_

"True, Yusuke," Kurama agreed, unperturbed. "But overconfidence is the curse of all demons."

 "You are intelligent, Kurama," the voice said. "But then again, all kitsunes are." 

"Show yourself!" Yusuke shouted. "We don't have all day!"

"Ah, but _I _do, and you see, it is what _I _want, that counts here," Mokkan said, stepping out of the shadows. "But, yes, begin, by all means. I grow bored of this exchange. The first move is yours."

"Don't trust him, Kurama," Yusuke said unnecessarily.

"Don't worry," replied Kurama. 

            Hiei untied the headband that bound his Jagan eye. "Black Dragon Wave!" he shouted, as the dragon unfurled its wings and prepared for another aerial attack. 

The battlefield was engulfed in a strange black light. When the smoke cleared, the dragon was lying stretched on the floor, its wings twisted and burned, completely useless. But it was breathing.

Hiei clenched his teeth. It should be dead! He picked up his trusty katana. At least the thing was severely weakened. 

Struggling to its feet, the dragon prepared to charge one last time. Hiei circled the thing to check for weaknesses…There! There was a place right between the elbow and the heartgirth* with loose skin and no scales. Seeing his chance, Hiei drove his sword deeply into the dragon's side until he felt it pierce the heart. 

Hiei leaned against the wall, intending to join Kurama and Yusuke as soon as he recovered a bit from using the Black Dragon Wave. 

            Kai's quick footsteps echoed all around her as she walked onwards. She stopped as she came to a large hall…large didn't even begin to describe it. It was enormous; the lofty ceiling was lost to shadows and the floor was as long as a small meadow. It was plenty big enough to contain the body lying inside it. 

Kai gasped. She was well traveled, and an experienced fighter, but she had never seen the like of this creature. It was a dragon. Its bloody black scales shined dully in the dim light. The eerily bright emerald eyes were glazed over in death, and the once-leathery wings were now a twisted mass of burned flesh.

(Kami, I am in such a bloody mood today!)

            She stepped over to the beast, and examined the foot-long pearly white fangs that protruded from the half-open mouth. She stuck her foot on the edge of the dragon's snout, and with a grunt of exertion, yanked the fang from the mouth. She hefted it, admiring the weight and quality. Then she proceeded to attack the other fang. 

"What are you, some kind of grave robber?"

Kai jumped at the sound. She did not think there was anyone else in the room with her and the dragon. She turned to face Hiei's voice. Her ears twitched in annoyance. "No…" 

Ignoring the fire youkai, Kai turned back to the dragon's body. "Hmmm…" The neko wrenched off one armor-like scale. It was roughly the size of her hand span. She tore off another, just like it. Humming softly under her breath, Kai went over to join Hiei. 

"How did you get those?" she gasped, tracing her finger along the gashes in his chest.

Feeling her soft fingers on his chest, Hiei went rigid. He said nothing.

"Hmm?" she asked, still feeling the wounds. 'Kami, what am I doing?' she asked herself desperately.

"It's nothing…" Hiei muttered. 'Baka neko! What is she doing to me?'

Kai drew back, blushing faintly. "You should take care of that," she whispered.

"Later," he said. "Why do you have that stuff, anyway?" He indicated the dragon fangs and scales. 

"I collect things," she replied simply, "from all over the Makai. If you ever get to see my den, I'll show you some of them." 

Hiei was very nervous. 'Her den? Why would I be going to her den? Why am I thinking about her den?' He 'hn'ed' in response. 

"We should go look for the others. They might need our help," Kai suggested.

"Hn."

"But," she continued speculatively, "You're youki is very low. What _did_ you do? Well, it doesn't matter now… but we should go look anyway…" she said as though she hadn't noticed his sudden reclusive behavior. 

"Hn."

"I'll take that as a 'yes.'" 

* ~ * ~ *

DMG: *has muse duct-taped to an iron chair* Well, there it is, the ninth chappie! Hopefully it's better than the last one. I added fluff, though very little. V.V PLEASE REVIEW!!!!! This mission is going to be DONE in the next chapter! YAY!! *dances around* *cough* ahem… I'm done now… Just review!!!!!!

* For those of you who don't know, the heartgirth is located just behind the elbow of a horse in front of the barrel (round middle area) Um, not that anyone cares…


	10. Chapter 10

DMG: Konnichiwa! I'm in a good mood today! I don't have writer's block as bad as before! YAY!!! Isn't that good? Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I kidnapped my own muse…

Muse: You still don't own YYH! 

DMG: *twitches* Anyway… If anyone is interested, please read my other fic, Aspen Rea. In my opinion, it's even better than this one, so please check it out. Thank you to:

**asian**** princess 610: I'm really happy that you liked the last chapter! You are undoubtedly my most faithful reviewer!**

**Michilu: Thanks for the review! I always love those! **

**Midnightdeam51: Thank you for being honest! ^_^ Don't worry, stupid Mokkan guy is really getting on my nerves too. . But he's dead in this one! ^_^ **

**blank0: Thanks! *bows*  Although I think I'm less than talented at action scenes… **

**DAN0: Glad you're back! EEEP! Yes, I'll update! **

* ~ * ~ *

(forgive me if I gloss this over…) 

          "Rose whip!" yelled Kurama, drawing his trademark weapon. 

          Yusuke raised his finger (no not that one), ready to fire any of his rei attacks at a moment's notice. 

          An eerily high laughter filled the room. "What, can you not see me?" A gigantic red fox seemingly materialized out of nothing. 

          "Kurama, do you know anything about this?" Yusuke whispered.

          "If I did, I would tell you," he replied. "I think our friend Mokkan has had a long time to himself to develop new tricks. He is slippery even for a fox."

          "Though nothing on the Youko, am I right?" Yusuke joked. 

          "Too true."

          "Are you finished with your little chat? I grow bored," Mokkan's fox-form said. Or, rather, his voice filled the room and boomed inside of their heads. He flicked his three tails impatiently. 

          Kurama smiled slightly. Three tails. The Youko had nine. 

          "We're ready when you are, vixen," Yusuke taunted in his familiar cocky tone. 

          "I think we should go try to find them again now," Kai worried. "I can't sense any energy at all, but I know they're fighting…"

          Hiei was having problems of his own. No matter what he told the inquisitive cat demon, his youki was dangerously low from using the Black Dragon Wave. He needed to rest for a few hours, but that was out of the question before they found Kurama and Yusuke. 

          Kai frowned. They must be fighting in a room that blocked youki signals so they couldn't be found. Kai didn't even know that was possible. She thought she knew a lot about the world before she joined the Reiki Tantei. A lot of good that way of thinking had got her. They hit a fork in the road. Again. Oh joy. 

Kuwabara was a good hour's walk behind everyone else. There were several reasons for this, including the fact that he simply walked slower. He could sense Kai and Hiei's energy signatures very faintly up ahead, and if they were faint to his acute spirit awareness, then they must be VERY far ahead. But he could tell Hiei had used his infamous Black Dragon Wave, which had drained his youki considerably. Yusuke and Kurama had simply vanished, as far as he could tell. 

He looked around nervously. Hey, it was pretty scary to be all by yourself in the middle of the castle of the enemy. Who knows what was lurking in the shadows, ready to leap out at him? Not that he couldn't fight anything that DID attack him…

"Which fork?" Kai asked Hiei. 

"I don't care," he replied. "It doesn't make any difference."  
          Kai sighed heavily. "You're right, of course. I suppose we should just stay here for the time being. Even on the off-chance that we get there in time to be of any use, you certainly won't be much help, and I don't think I will be either."

Hiei leaned against the wall and closed his eyes in agreement. Or, at least, as much agreement that could be gotten out of him. 

Kai sank to the floor beside him and sat indian-style to await the arrival of their teammates. 

Mokkan was dead. Considering, Kurama and Yusuke hadn't taken much damage, only a few scratches and bruises. Kurama calmly returned his whip to its rose state and tucked it behind his ear. (Or, wherever he keeps it) Yusuke dusted off his hands and walked over to inspect the body.

"Yup, it's dead," he announced, nudging the three-tailed kitsune with his foot. 

"Thank you for that  brilliant observation, Yusuke," Kurama said wearily. The actual fight hadn't taken long, but they had been traveling for several days. 

"Let's go find the others," Yusuke suggested. 

"Hey shrimps!" 

Hiei and Kai chose to ignore the annoying voice that intruded on their awareness. 

"Hello?" Kuwabara tiptoed up to them. "Are you dead?"

He was about to poke Hiei when one of the Jaganshi's eyes snapped open. "Don't even think about it, moron."

Kuwabara backed up several steps. 'I thought he was asleep' he thought nervously.

[Baka. How could anyone sleep with _you around?] _

[Get out of my mind, shrimp!]

[Gladly. There is nothing in here, anyway.]

[Hey!] 

There was no answer. 

"So, uh, are we gonna look for Yusuke and Kurama?"

"If you can sense their energy, I would love to know how," Kai answered dryly. 

"Wait, lemme check…" 

"We're waiting…"

"I got it! They are… that way! And coming closer!" 

"Huh?" Kai asked intelligently. "How did you know that?"

"Well, shrimp, I can sense their energy!" Kuwabara declared proudly. 

"Hey, you're right! The barrier must be down," Kai guessed. "That means, either they found some way to break it down, or they won and Mokkan's dead…"

"He's dead," said Hiei. His Jagan eye glowed. 

"Oh."

"How would _you know, shorty?"_

"Why is it that all of your insults involve height?" Kai asked. 

Kuwabara glared at her. 

"Have you forgotten already? I have this." Hiei pointed to his Jagan. 

"Oh."

"I think it would be a waste of precious time and energy to go look for them. After all, they have to come back this way sometime to get out," Kai suggested reasonably.

"Hn."

"Sounds good."

Kurama and Yusuke found the rest of the group quickly. They all agreed to get out of the stinking castle as fast as possible and then decide where to go next, because, as Kurama pointed out, no one's mother would be very happy to see them come home covered in blood and demon slime. At this, Yusuke pointed out that Kurama was the only one with a caring mother to worry about. Still, they agreed to get cleaned up. 

"Wait, I've forgotten something," Kai said. She ran off to the chamber where she fought. 

Five minutes later she returned with the demon's impressive weapon slung over her shoulders. 

"What are you going to do with that?" Yusuke asked.

She shrugged. "It's for my collection. I don't have anything like this."

Hiei was the only one who somewhat understood what she meant by that. 

It was dark when they finally reached the outside. 

"Ah, fresh air!" Kai said as she flopped onto the dew-covered grass of the courtyard. 

"Ew, you're getting all wet," said Kuwabara. 

"Brilliant observation, baka," said Hiei.

Kai laughed softly. "Stop bickering for once. It's beautiful out. Look!" 

There were thousands upon thousands of tiny stars in the dark evening sky. The rain of the day before had all cleared up, leaving the air sparkling and fresh. The warm breeze rustled the treetops and demon crickets chirped without a care in the world. It was one of the rare Makai nights when no dying screams rang through the stillness, no clash of weapons was heard, and blood did not stain the ground. For that moment, the world was at peace.

Even Yusuke and Kuwabara did not break the spell, although neither of them could appreciate the night like the demons could, for their own personal reasons. 

"All right, let's go," Kai breathed, afraid of disturbing the sounds of silence. (hehe n/m) "My den actually isn't too far from here, we could make it by morning if we go fast, if you guys want to take a break and heal a bit before we go back to Ningenkai."

* ~ * ~ *

DMG: I'm going to stop there for now. I wasn't planning to, but my sister is going to take the laptop and I want to update today. Sorry no fluff in this one. V.V Too bad, I know. I'll try in the next one. I know this chapter was kind of pointless and gomen for that. Review and maybe I'll write faster! ^_^


	11. Chapter 11

**DMG: Uh, gomen for the long wait. I had this chapter finished, but I lost access to the file. So now I have to retype everything. *sighs* Technology hates me. And I can't remember what I wrote before, so I have to think of new things. *grrrrrr* Life isn't fair. And it's such a daunting task to rewrite what I've written already. **

**Chihiro: AHAHAHAHA!!! (I love caps. They describe my state of mind perfectly.) hehe. Yes, I know what you mean. Or at least I think I do. You can never really tell. Your mind might be innocent. (lol.)**

**Midnightdream51: Yup. *nods* Can't really think of anything remotely clever to say, so I'll just shut up. *nods***

**Piper222: Here's the update. Sorry it took forever. Enjoy!**

**Pyro Child16: Perhaps… I'd just have to think of a decent circumstance…so far the only fighting I've planned is sparring.**

**asian princess 61: *bows* thanks! Hopefully, it will only get better! **

**YaJiRuShi: *mysterious smile* There will be lots of little hints throughout the story of H/K. Like, at the end of this chappie! But, unfortunately, nothing definite for a while yet.**

**Raine Jaganshi: Terribly sorry for the wait. *sad face* But my pretty red disk was mad at me… Thanks for the review!**

*** ~ * ~ * ~ ***

        "Now, it goes without saying that none of you will mention the location of my den, ne?" Kai said pleasantly as they strolled through a forest. 

        "Why shouldn't we?" Yusuke asked. 

        She turned around to glare at the spirit detective. "Just don't!"

        "But why not?" he persisted. 

        She gave an exasperated sigh. "If you really must know, then I'll explain. I – just – don't – want – demons – knocking – on – my –front – door – 24/7." 

        Yusuke looked bewildered. "Why would they be knocking on your door?"

        She rolled her eyes at him. "I used to be an assassin. Or did you forget?"

        He grinned sheepishly. "I guess I did. You just – kinda, seem like you've been around forever."

        She raised an eyebrow. "I guess I'll take that as a compliment and not as a reference to my age."

        "But why would being an assassin have anything to do with demons knocking at your front door?" Kuwabara asked, perplexed. 

        "What is this, some kind of interrogation? Well, I'll spell it out for you. I used to be an assassin. That means I made shady deals with shady demons. Actually, I was very busy most of the time, with requests all over the place. When I was home, I liked to have time to myself. If demons knew where my den was, then they'd never leave me alone! And now, that still applies, because no one really knows that I've quit the business," she explained. 

        "You know, it's a good thing that you're not an assassin anymore. Killing people for money isn't nice."

        She cocked her head at him. "You really believe that, don't you?" Then she said something that shocked everyone. "Keep those ideals, baka. They're good for you." Then she turned and walked again, the scythe she had erm… 'borrowed' slung over her shoulder.

        Hiei snorted. "They'll get you killed."

        Kai turned back around. "Perhaps so," she said in all seriousness. Then she cracked an easy grin, for no apparent reason. 

        "So, where's your den?" Kuwabara asked, looking around. 

        Kai rolled her eyes. "We're not there yet. When we get there, I will tell you."

        Kurama, who had been silent throughout this whole conversation, suddenly spoke. "The forest is quite lovely here," he said, looking around.

        "Mm-hm, it is," Kai agreed. The trees were so thick around them that they could hardly see in front. "Very old, too, but you already knew that."

        Kurama smiled. "I did."

        Kai turned to the fire demon. "Why so quiet, Hiei?" she asked, slipping a friendly arm around his shoulders. 

        He didn't really try to shrug her off, which Yusuke made a mental note of. Hiei said nothing.

        Comprehension dawned on Kai. "Oh – I remember. Well, it isn't that far to my den now." 

        This was greeted with the tiniest semblance of a yawn from the fire youkai. They went the rest of the way in relative silence. 

        "There it is," Kai announced, pointing in the direction of a huge tree with spreading branches that drooped slightly with the weight of all the leaves. Vines hung from the branches and wrapped around the trunk, which was think enough to that if all of the team tried to wrap their arms around it, they still wouldn't cover the circumference. 

        "You live in a tree?" Yusuke asked with a deadpan look. -_-;

        "I've always wanted to live in a tree," Kuwabara said dreamily.

        Everyone sweatdropped. 

        "Is there anything wrong with living in a tree?" Hiei asked Yusuke. 

        "No – no of course not," Yusuke said, raising his hands in an attempt to placate the fire youkai. 

        "Before you all start bickering again, I will have you know that I do NOT live in a tree," Kai stated calmly. 

        "Then where do you live?" asked Yusuke. 

        "Have patience and I'll _show you."_

        Kuwabara, who seemingly was not paying attention, nodded. "Patience is a virtue. Trees are our friends."

        Kai raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. He was just too weird. Motioning for them to follow, she brushed aside some of the hanging vines and stepped under the branches. She didn't stop; instead, she parted the curtain of vines on the other side, revealing a stone staircase cut into the rock of what looked like a hill. "Up there."

        They climbed for a while. Yusuke and Kuwabara were gasping for breath within a few minutes.

        "How – much – longer – will – this – take?" Yusuke panted.

        "Did you forget that it becomes more difficult to breathe the higher up you go?" Kai asked. "Well, it doesn't matter. We'll be there in about 5 minutes."

        True to her word, they reached the top in about another 5 minutes, to see a sturdy oak door that was built right into the rock. Kai took a large silver key from her belt pouch and fitted it into the matching lock. 

        "Welcome home."  
        The spirit detectives stepped into a short, low hall. Kuwabara, being the tallest, had to duck a bit, while Hiei and Kai had no problems.

        "Shoes off," she ordered. "I'm not your mother, and I don't want to clean up after you." She slipped off her own boots and threw them into a closet-like compartment. The boys did the same. The scythe and her bags were left leaning against the wall by the door. 

        Hiei was also leaning slightly against the stone wall. Kai noticed this and motioned him to follow her. 

        Yusuke pointed at them and smothered a giggle, Kuwabara looked confused about what Yusuke was laughing at, and Kurama shook his head slightly. 

        Kai showed Hiei into a bedroom in the very back of the hallway. "This is *cough* my *cough* room. You can, erm, sleep here if you *cough* want to. I don't *cough* have a spare." Kai turned away, hoping that Hiei didn't pick up on why she suddenly sounded as if she needed cough drops. 

        Unfortunately, he did. He fought the blush that was rising in his cheeks and mysteriously found the floor to be very interesting. 

        "Erm, well, I'll be going now. Have a good sleep… AHHH!" She fled. 

        Hiei blinked after her, then settled for a much-needed nap.

(A/N: on the off chance that someone didn't get what they were talking about, cherish your clean mind.)

        "So," Yusuke said, smirking, when Kai came back. 

        "So what?" she snapped. 

        "So," he grinned. 

        "I don't have time for this," Kai growled, before he could say what she knew he wanted to.

        "So… you and Hiei, who would have guessed?" Yusuke knew he was putting his life in jeopardy, but he couldn't resist. 

        "ARGGHH!" She pushed past him into the room they were sitting in. 

        Even Kuwabara looked slightly smug. She didn't know he even knew HOW to be smug! She felt like pulling her hair out for some reason. Thank Kami-sama that _Kurama _wasn't laughing at her. 

        "I'm going to go get bandages," Kai said, sweeping out again.

        Kurama looked around the room they were in. It was like a living room, of sorts. Three comfortable-looking couches were arranged around a low table in front of a large fireplace. Late afternoon sunlight was streaming through a wide window. The walls were covered with shelves filled with all sorts of 'things,' for lack of a better word, from all over the Makai, and probably Ningenkai as well. 

        Dominating the back wall opposite the fireplace was an impressive weapons rack. Gleaming traditional katanas and kodachis hung suspended between sharp daggers and sets of kunaii. There was even a western-style broadsword there. Kurama identified a saber, rapier, and…a holy hand grenade?

        "Hey, that one must be to blow thine enemies to tiny bits, in thy Lord's mercy, like the killer rabbit!" said Yusuke, pointing to the grenade.

        Kurama just looked at him. "…"

        "What? You've never seen Monty Python? Geez, fox boy, you need to get out more."     

(A/N: Don't own it.)

        They went back to looking at weapons. A wicked double-headed axe was mounted near a bunch of spears, javelins, lances, and pikes, which were located by the bows. There was an ornately carved ebony longbow, as well as several smaller bows, all with matching quivers of arrows, and the odd crossbow. 

        "This is one heck of a collection," Kuwabara said. 

        "No shit Sherlock," Yusuke said as he bent to touch a point on a ninja throwing star.  

        "I wouldn't touch anything if I were you," Kai said dryly, returning with bandages, "some of them are poisoned."

        Yusuke quickly withdrew his hand. 

        She divided the bandages into three piles and dumped them on the spirit detectives. "Yusuke, Kuwabara, I trust you can fix each other up. I'll put fox boy here back together again."

        "I'm fine, really," Kurama protested. 

        "Nope, I'm gonna patch you up whether you say so or no," she said firmly, pushing him onto one of the couches. 

        Now that that's all taken care of," Kai said, dusting off her hands. "We need to eat. And I don't really eat that stuff that you humans call food."

        "Are we gonna have to eat bugs or something?" Kuwabara asked, looking disgusted.

"Now what in all 7 hells gave you the idea that I eat bugs?" Kai demanded, hands on hips. 

 "…"

"That's what I thought. I'll be back in an hour or so, so try to behave yourselves and don't touch or disturb Hiei, but I don't mind if you get accustomed to the place." She left. 

"Whatever." Yusuke flopped down on a couch. Kuwabara did the same. 

"I think I will explore a bit," Kurama said mildly. 

"You do that, fox boy." 

"I'm back!" Kai called softly as she re-entered her den. "Is anybody there?"

"We're right here!" Yusuke shouted flippantly from the living room on the left. 

"SH!"

"Hey, where's Kurama?" Kuwabara asked, looking around.

"I'm here," Kurama said, stepping out of shadows that mysteriously appeared just for this purpose, startling the baka. 

"Good. Now that you're all here, does anyone know how to cook?"

"I do," Kurama offered. 

Yusuke and Kuwabara shook their heads 'no.' 

        "O-kay, then. Kurama can help me make dinner, and you two can stay here and out of trouble."

(A/N: I'm gonna skip, 'caus my own culinary skills include instant ramen and boiling water.)

        Between them, Kai and Kurama had managed to make a decent soup thing out of whatever Kai had brought back. Yusuke and Kuwabara didn't know, and they decided they probably didn't want to. 

        "Kai," Kurama asked. "There are windows in almost all of your rooms. If your den is dug into a hill, then how is this possible?"

        "You noticed that all my main rooms are on the left side?"

        He nodded.

        "Well, this isn't exactly a hill. It's more like a ledge sort of thing that overlooks a valley. The left side of the hall is the side that is sheer, making it possible for me to cut windows in," Kai explained eagerly. It had been no easy task to design her home.

        Yusuke and Kuwabara, who had no interest in the layout of Kai's den, ignored the demons. Yusuke finished and stood. "Hey, thanks for the dinner. I think I'll go to bed now."

        Kai held up a hand. "I don't think so," she smirked. "You two have dishwashing duty."

        "What?" 

        "Kurama and I cooked, so you two get to clean. Have fun!" She turned to leave. "Oh, and you guys can sleep on the couches. Sorry, I don't have an extra bedroom or mattresses."

        "I think this is favoritism," Yusuke muttered to Kuwabara as they trudged to the kitchen.

        "Wha?" 

        "Nevermind." 'Geez, even I know that word,' Yusuke thought.  Then he turned just in time to see Kai slip into her own bedroom.

        "Hey, isn't the shrimp sleeping in there?" Kuwabara asked.

        "Yeah," Yusuke replied. He could barely suppress his glee. This would be good blackmail, if they found a camera. 

        "Did you need help with those dishes?" 

        "AH!" 

        "Don't scare me like that!"

        Kai inched the heavy door to her room open a crack, letting a sliver of soft candlelight from the hall illuminate the interior. Biting her lip, she slipped through and inside and stood by the bed where Hiei was, careful to keep her ki very low so the sleeping demon wouldn't know she was there. 

        Half-amazed at her own daring, she gently brushed the bangs away from his face. His features looked much softer while he slept, less guarded. He almost looked… kinda sweet… 

* ~ * ~ * ~ *

DMG: I hope you're happy! That took me FOREVER to write, especially the last part. And because my laptop kept freezing and dumping it. Stupid piece of junk. Sorry for picking on Kurama so much; I couldn't resist. 

QUESTION: Do you people want this to have a plot, or just be a day-to-day episodic kind of fic? Personally I favor the day-by-day stuff, but, yeah… whatever. 

Reviews make me happy. *hint, hint* ^_~ 

(Sorry for any OOCness. I try. And, I noticed in this chapter, Yusuke uses a bunch of western phrases. *shrugs* Oh well.) 

Did anyone ever notice how in lots of fics, Hiei is really mean to Kuwabara? When, really, in the series, it's usually Kuwabara who starts it by saying 'shorty' or something. And Hiei shows really good self-control. All he says is a sarcastic comment about Kuwabaka's intelligence once in a while. I've just been thinking that Hiei's really a lot nicer than what fics usually portray him as. Just a random thought. 


	12. Chapter 12

**DMG: erm…yeah… Don't own nothing 'cept my sweatshirt and jeans. Oh, no, wait, my mom paid for those…**

**Only two people told me whether or not they wanted a definite plot or not. Doesn't anyone read the author's notes? There's important stuff in those, like my plans for world domination! MWAHAHAHAHA! *red aura flares* *coughs* Nobody heard that… **

**blank(): Thanks for the review. ^_^ **

**Miss Anime Luver: *winks* Now that would be telling, wouldn't it? Thanks for reviewing. (The truth is, I really don't know. A little demon bird tells me.)**

**asian princess 61(): Glad you still like it. I haven't lost my touch, whatever the voices in my head tell me. ^_~**

**Raine Takashi: *sweatdrops* Now I'm confused. Someone else told me to have a plot. I just can't win, can I? Oh, well, I'll figure something out. Thanks for the review! **

**YaJiRuShi: MWAHAHAHAHA! I feel like such a tease! ^_____^ I think you'll like this chapter… 0_o **

**Midnightdream51(): yeah… I was thinking that myself when I wrote it, but I decided it was more like her to have a more human-style den. Somehow I just can't imagine her living in some hole-in-the-ground, ne? Thanks for your wonderful review! **

*** ~ * ~ * ~ ***

            "Yusuke, where'd you get the camera?" Kuwabara asked as they crept closer to the bedroom at the end of the hall. 

            "On a shelf labeled, 'Plot Devices.' Why?"

            "No reason. Won't they be mad?"

            "It's a chance we're willing to take." 

            "Hiei won't wake up; he used the Black Dragon Wave. Is Kai a light sleeper?"

            "I dunno," Kuwabara whispered back. "But I think she fell out of a tree once without waking up."

            "Good," Yusuke said, motioning Kuwabara to follow him. He stuffed his fist in his mouth to stifle his laughter.

            Kai laid half on and half off the bed, her head resting on her arms as her mouth hung slightly open. Her legs were tucked behind her on the cold floor. Hiei was sleeping on his side with one arm draped over Kai's shoulder. 

            "She doesn't look too comfortable, does she?" Yusuke snickered. "We can fix that…"

            They lifted her legs and set her on the bed next to Hiei. Very close. They took the fire demon's hands and placed them around Kai's waist. Then, snickering, Yusuke got an evil, perverted idea. He bent over and…altered a few things.

            Yusuke raised the camera and snapped a few pictures. The two miscreants slunk away, fists still stuffed into their mouths.

            "That is hardly advisable," Kurama observed from the doorway. 

            "Shut up, fox."

            Kurama shrugged. "I suppose we will wait for them to wake up before leaving for Ningenkai."

            Kai opened her mouth to yawn and felt her lips connect with skin. Uh-oh. This was most definitely NOT good. She pulled back sharply but fell again as she felt herself being held down by someone's arms. "Mmmmf"

            Hiei twitched slightly and tried to wake, but felt a warm weight across his body. Someone's heavy breathing stirred the hair near his ear. The ki he sensed was suspiciously like Kai's… 

            "Get off me, onna!" he growled. 

            Her green eyes narrowed. "_You get your __hands off my _a_-"_

            They looked up. "Someone's coming…" Kai said tensely. "I don't want to be caught like this. We're still asleep, okay?" She buried her crimson face in Hiei's neck again. 

            Hiei tried to ignore the heat in his face and look asleep.

            The footsteps paused outside the door, then receded. The demons let out a breath. 

"Okay, now you better let go of me, or else." Kai whispered.

It was then that Hiei finally noticed the location of his hands, which were placed, erm… a bit further south than was absolutely necessary, if you catch my drift. 

Hiei gulped and glowed an even brighter red, if that was possible, drawing his hands into his sleeves. 

'He's really kawaii when he's embarrassed,' Kai thought affectionately, forgetting for the moment she was supposed to be mad at him. "Somehow I doubt that we fell asleep like this." She voiced the last thought aloud. 

Hiei nodded.

"And I have a strong suspicion as to who is responsible for this mess."

"Exactly how did the morons get you here?" 

Kai coughed. "Well, um, I guess I kinda fell asleep on the floor when I came to check on you…"

He raised an eyebrow.

"Don't give me that look," she said, slapping him lightly on the back of the head. "I was a bit worried, you know. I never saw the effects of your Black Dragon Wave before…"

"You care?" His expression was still bored, as always, but inside, he really wanted to know…

"Of course, Hiei no baka. Why wouldn't I? You guys are the best thing that's happened to me for… lots of years." She had almost dated herself. And women never do that. "Now, for revenge…"

Hiei looked scandalized. "That's disgusting!" he hissed. 

"Ew! No! Not the way you're thinking! I was just saying that we could beat the crap out of them for now, and think of something more creative later. Because they're going to get suspicious because we still haven't moved."

They scrambled away from each other and off the bed. 

Kai was tempted to laugh at Hiei's face. He really hadn't noticed how close they were… That was a bit disappointing, but, maybe – he unconsciously didn't mind? Now there was a thought for a rainy day. Preferably one soon.

"Do you think we should wake them up now?" Kuwabara questioned. "It has been a long time…"

"No way!" Yusuke said. "I wanna hear the screams when they do get up and realize what they look like."

Kurama looked up briefly, noticed Kai and Hiei, steaming in the doorway, then looked innocently back down. 

"Uh – Yusuke…"  Kuwabara began, looking over the spirit detective's shoulder. 

"What?"

BAM! 

"Ouch…"

Kai stood over him, red aura flaring in the background as she suddenly looked a lot bigger than the five feet she was. 

::MEEP::

"Um… sleep well?" Yusuke cringed.

"THAT WAS NOT FUNNY!!" Kai raged. "DON'T EVER I MEAN _EVER _THINK ABOUT PULLING SOMEHTING LIKE THAT AGAIN!!!!!"

Kuwabara laughed, and the stupid sound grated in Hiei's ears. "You are in just as much trouble, baka. I wouldn't be laughing yet," he growled.

::gulp::

Kurama looked up mildly from the couch. "I did warn you."

Two pairs of angry eyes turned upon the unfortunate kitsune. 

"You knew about this?" Kai snarled.

"And you didn't stop them?"

"KURAMA YOU TRAITOR!" Kai lunged for poor Kurama, innocently sitting on the sofa. 

::sweatdrop:: 

Yusuke and Kuwabara decided this was a good time to make good their escape. They scrambled to the door. Unfortunately, Hiei intercepted them. 

::gulp::

About half an hour later, three very disheveled figures began their descent down the long row of steps leading to and from Kai's den. Two of them had learned a good lesson about 'making people more comfortable' while they slept. The third had realized that innocent bystanders really do get hurt. And I think you can all tell who they were. 

"Why isn't the shrimp coming back with us?" the burly redhead questioned.

"Hiei said he would be staying here for a while," the slender, pretty, green-eyed bishie replied. 

"Can see why he'd want to," the boy in green with what looked like axel grease in his slicked-back hair snickered. 

"Yusuke, stop that," the one – oh screw it – Kurama said lightly. 

"Whatever, fox boy," Yusuke muttered. 

"Hey, can we see Yukina while we're here?" Kuwabara asked excitedly, practically drooling at the thought of the pretty ice apparition. 

Evidently, his voice somehow carried into the den, because a few moments later, the door opened, and a UHP – unidentified heavy projectile – flew at Kuwabara's head. He fell down several of the stone, hard, steps, and landed on his back with a sickening 'crack!' 

Yusuke winced and Kurama looked reprovingly back in the direction of the door before going to see if Kuwabara survived. 

[That's not nice, Hiei.] Kurama told his friend telepathically. 

[Hn.]

[He doesn't even know you're her brother.] The fox continued to gently chide mentally. 

[Shut up, fox.]

Kurama shrugged, smiling slightly, wondering when Hiei would ever get past this. 

"Um, I guess we don't see Yukina," Yusuke laughed nervously. "Hear that, Hiei?"

"Why would shorty care about Yukina?" Kuwabara asked, holding his head. "If he even thinks about liking her, I swear I'll grind his face into the ground!"

Yusuke laughed, thinking of something else to tease the rather sensitive fire demon with. "No Kuwabara, I think Hiei would die before he thinks of Yukina like that," Yusuke chortled, conveniently leaving the first question unanswered. 

  
(If you think about it, Hiei really is kind of sensitive in the series. Like how he cares so much for Yukina, and for the other members of the Reikai Tantei, although he tries desperately to hide it. We know, Hiei. Just a thought.) 

            "Let's get going," Kurama suggested. "Mother will be worried."

            "Yeah, well, maybe _your mother will be worried," Yusuke muttered under his breath, thinking that Atsuko was probably drunk beyond caring at the moment. Which was not far from the truth. _

            Kai's cat ears twitched as she stopped listening from the door. "You know, Hiei, Kuwabara thinks that you _like Yukina…"_

            Hiei frowned. "Of course I like her, she's my sister."

            "No, I mean, have a crush on her." Kai grinned. She could practically see the clockwork going on in his head. 

            "WHAT?!" 

            "Oh, come on. The only reason he thinks that is because he doesn't know you two are siblings. Though, the thought is kind of funny…"

            Hiei's look was horrified. 

            "For heaven's sake! I was joking!" She threw an arm around his shoulders.

            (You know, if you pronounce that differently, it comes out as for heaven's Japanese alcoholic beverage. Or whatever. I just realized that. Sorry. On with the fic!)

            Remembering the close contact of the morning, they coughed and pulled apart. 

            "Hiei, I have a proposition for you," Kai began as they lounged around in the late afternoon.

            "Hn." (The equivalent of, "Go on, I'm listening.)

            "Today never happened as far as we are concerned."

            He raised his eyebrows. 

            "_Especially _this morning. Sound good?" 

            A fresh blush stole across the bridge of his nose as he recalled it. They had been, well, rather stiff around each other since then… "Hn."

(Hiei's version of, 'That sounds great. We have been guarded in our actions since that incident. We should just forget about it and have things the way they were.) 

            "It's a deal then." Kai formally reached her hand out to shake Hiei's. Then she laughed, for a reason apparent to none but herself. "I'm glad…"

            'Women are strange,' Hiei thought. 

            Kai sat bolt upright, nose in the air. "You smell like blood! I haven't fixed you up yet! Gomen nasai!" She hurried off, presumably to get bandages and medicinal supplies. 

            When she returned, Hiei didn't move. "I can fix myself up. I've done it before." 

            "I'm sure you have," Kai murmured, already in 'mother-nurse' mode, and pushing him on the couch. "Shirt off," she ordered.

            Hiei glared balefully at her and complied. There was just something about an angry female who wanted to put you back together that was very scary. 

            "I'm going to get some hot water," Kai huffed after inspecting the long gouges on his chest, which hadn't really healed at all. "There must have been some mild form of poison or something in those claws or something…demons heal faster than that…" Her muttering died away. 

            Hiei leaned back and sighed. Baka no onna, he was perfectly fine…

            Kai pushed up her sleeves and wrapped the white bandages around the wounds. "I don't know why I didn't notice this before," she chided herself. "The smell of blood is really quite strong…"

            Hiei looked uncomfortable. "Don't worry about it."

            "But you'll be fine," she continued cheerfully. "You're strong. You'll survive to live and love," Kai said absentmindedly. 

"Hn."

She finished and was about to roll down her sleeves when Hiei caught her arm. 

            "You're hurt too," he said flatly, examining the long shallow cut that ran up the inside of her forearm to her shoulder. 

            She looked away. "It's nothing. I was going to fix it up myself tonight…"

            "What, I'm not capable of healing myself and you are?" Hiei asked rhetorically. "Not a chance."

            "Oh, fine. Have it your way." Kai slipped off her jacket, leaving only a tight tank top and held out her arm. "Fair is fair, after all."

            Hiei was surprisingly gentle as he wrapped the white cloth around the clean cut. He tied it securely and looked away. "Hn…"

            "Well, now that you're going to be staying here for a while, I guess I have to look into some extra futon and guest rooms…" 

*** ~ * ~ * ~ ***

**DMG: I think I'm being smothered by fluff. *chokes and dies* I hope you people are all happy! Sorry to all of you non-pervs for the pervy chappie. I don't know what possessed me. I really WAS going to make it all innocent, but… that didn't turn out too well. **

**Nameless Muse: *sarcastically* Yeah right, excuses, excuses. You _know you have no problems with that sort of thing, you hentai._**

**DMG: Shaddup! As always, I looooooove reviews! ^^ Come on, help me break a hundred, yea? Only, flames aren't nice. We don't like them. But you wouldn't flame me, ne? *chibi eyes* **


	13. Chapter 13

**DMG: Sugoi! Nice response to the last chappie, ne? Just the usual, I don't own anything except my geometry homework, but you can have that if you want to. *holds book up hopefully* No? Bummer. *throws it away.* Oh well! Hey, IT'S SNOWING!!!!!!! Well, only flurries, but still, ^_^! **

**kisa(****): No, not in THIS story. But if you want someone for Kurama, please check out my other fic, (actually it's the sequel to this one) ****Aspen**** Rea. I'm glad you like Kai/Hiei. Arigato!**

**asian**** princess 61(): hehe! Yes, it wasn't nice of Yusuke and Kuwabara, that it was not. But it was pretty fun to write! ^_^ Thanx!**

**Chihiro(****): 0.o? NO! The rating will NOT go up on the story! *yelps and blushes* *coughs* Yeah, I won't write anything that will make the rating go up… but, I am going by the rating where I live, which is, well, a lot of stuff fits under that rating. 0_o Last chappie is about the closest I get to citrus/lime, though. Thanks for reviewing my humble little story! ^^**

**Toxic Tears1: Yes! Fluff! Fluff is GOOD! I like fluff. I will write more, hopefully some in every chapter. But not TOO much. I wouldn't want you readers to get smothered. Thank you! **

**Raine Takanaka: Thanks for reviewing! ^_^ **

**Kaida: I'm so flattered! And here at home they say I don't have a sense of humor… Thanks for the review! **

**Miss Anime Luver: Here it is! Hope it hasn't been too long… I made you laugh? That's great! Thanks for pressing the pretty little button and telling me! ^-^**

**YaJiRuShi: Yes, hopefully more H/K fluff from here on in! *throws confetti* Thanks!**

**kay-chan(): Hehe! I'm glad you like! Oh yes! I had LOTS of fun writing that scene! ^_~ Thanks for reviewing! **

**Midnightdream51: No, don't worry, I won't forget them! They just don't really fit at this point. And I know it's been more on the pointless humor side than anything lately; that's because I've been stuck at home with mono for a month now, so the only place I get to be hyper is on the keyboard! *coughs* Not that I'm making excuses or anything. Don't worry; (hopefully) deep stuff will be coming soon! **

*** ~ * ~ * ~ ***

            "Sooo…" 

            Kai and Hiei were utterly bored. Well, actually, Kai was bored and Hiei was trying to ignore her inane ramblings. 

            Even someone who entered the room at the moment would have become bored out of their sanity just looking at them. Kai was sprawled with one leg over the arm of her smallest couch next to the windowsill, tracing lines in the air with her finger. Hiei was sitting in the windowsill, staring out blankly over the dismal view. It was not raining, and the sun was definitely not shining. A hazy gray glare seemed to hang like a dense cloud. 

            "Typical Makai day, ne?" Kai drawled, still tracing invisible patters. 

            "Hn." 

            "What do you want to do?"

            "…"

            "Fine. Be that way."

            A pillow came sailing over from the couch and whacked Hiei in the back of the head. He didn't move.

            "Stop being boring."

            "Hn."

            "I think you're just trying to annoy me. Or is the only word in your vocabulary really, 'hn'?"

            "Took you long enough, onna."

            She rolled her eyes. They lapsed into blessed silence for a while. 

(One hour later.)

"What do you want to do?"

            "What did you do when you lived alone?"

            The cat youkai shrugged. "Whatever I felt like…"

            Hiei sweatdropped. "…"

            "Hey! We could… nah, that's no fun… or we could… no, we did that yesterday… What did you do when the detectives weren't around?" Kai rolled over to face the fire demon, who was still sitting in the windowsill.

            "… I sat in a tree." 

            Kai face faulted. "That's IT?!" she exploded. "You're even more boring than I am!"

            "Do you have a better suggestion, onna?"

            "…Don't call me that!" 

            "Then I'm leaving."

            "Where are you going?!"  Her eyes got very big as she leapt off the couch.

            "To train," he said simply. 

            "Oh… Would you mind if I went with you?" she asked, her green eyes hopeful. Hiei really was stronger than her, and if he thought she was getting in the way…

            "Iie," he said, and headed out the door. "Do you know any good clearings?"

            "Actually, I know several. But we can go to the closest one." She took a dulled practice katana from a lesser rack on her wall and threw another to Hiei. "I don't know what you usually train with, but this will do."

            Hiei and Kai stood poised across the clearing from each other with their hands in a ready stance at the sword hilts. A drop of dew slipped off the petals of a Makai flower.

(A/N: Think Kenshin's fight with Soujiro in RK)

            Their katana connected with a metallic 'ping' and deflected each other. By the time the drop hit the springy forest floor, the two youkai were kneeling on opposite sides of the clearing, inspecting their weapons. 

            Kai watched the light reflect her katana's cutting edge with bated breath. It was whole. 

            Hiei feigned disinterest as the sunlight flashed on his blade. There were no cracks. He heard Kai's released breath. 

(A/N: Just to say, I drew heavily from Rurouni Kenshin for this. I think the battou-jutsu is really cool.)

            They whipped around and charged in for another attack. This time their hilts locked in a body-to-body stance. Kai had the clear disadvantage in this position because she was physically smaller. She broke away and rolled, breathing heavily. 

            Hiei was privately impressed at how long Kai had been able to hold him off. She was stronger than she appeared at first glance. 

            Kai wiped a small bead of sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. She grinned and flew at him again. 

            The sharp clashes of metal on metal rang through the still Makai air, causing several birds to take to the skies in alarm. Trees crashed to the ground in a ring around the 'battlefield,' accidentally sliced by the downward sweep of a sword or felled by the shockwaves of ki emanating from the ferocity of the mock battle. 

            The two youkai skidded backwards, creating deep furrows in the soil. With a yell, Hiei initiated the final attack. Both he and Kai had excellent stamina, but the strain from fighting all-out for so long was beginning to tell. They were bleeding from many minor cuts and bruises, though if they had been using sharp katana the story would be much different. 

            Kai brought her sword up to defend Hiei's oncoming blow. She gritted her teeth with determination, gleaming fangs drawing crimson blood to stain her pale lips. She pushed him back.

            Hiei was not about to give up. He clenched his jaws and shoved more power down onto the neko's katana.  

            It snapped cleanly down the center. The tip flew over his shoulder and buried itself in the trunk of a tree. 

            "Shit," Kai muttered. "You win. Again." Still holding the hilt of the broken katana in her left hand, she wiped the blood away from her mouth with her free right. 

(A/N: Did I forget to mention that Kai is left-handed? I did, didn't I? *looks through other chapters* Shit. Oh well, you know now.)

            "You've gotten better," Hiei observed.

            "What?"

            "I said, you've gotten better," he said calmly. There's nothing like a heated sparring match to take your mind off stress, after all. 

            She snorted. "That's what I get from watching you guys fight, I guess. I couldn't even do that much the first time I fought you."

            "That's true," he agreed. "You were rather pathetic then."

            "HEY!" 

            "It's the truth."

            "I _know it's the truth, baka. But you're supposed to make believe it isn't."_

            He looked at her from the corners of his adorable almond-shaped eyes. "Why would I do that?" 

            She smiled slightly at him. It was really hard to stay angry at someone who had eyes like that. His eyes were kind of…innocent…in a way. Hmmm…

            "Nevermind," she said aloud. 

            'Women are strange,' he thought. 'Especially crazy cats.'

            'Adorable or not, I'm going to beat him someday…'

            Kai woke from a catnap about an hour later. Blinking to clear her eyes, she noticed Hiei sitting a short ways off, obviously brooding over something. She suppressed a groan as she stretched her tight muscles. She was definitely going to feel this tomorrow. Hiei still hadn't acknowledged her. Maybe he was so wrapped up in his thoughts he didn't notice her ki, which was by now familiar. 

            Grinning evilly, she sunk into her true cat form. 

            Hiei turned sharply when he felt a warm weight spring onto his back. It was growling… playfully? Then he noticed the ki. It was Kai's, though considerably lower than he was used to. 

            "Get off me," he growled. Then he was aware of a purring close to his ear. She had her baka tails wrapped around his neck! 

            She jumped off and regarded him with a tilted expression. 

            He had never seen her full cat form before. Her coat was a deep, dark, reddish color, that reminded him a little of blood. Her ears were tipped in black and her face had a mask-like look, with black patches covering her eyes, which were mostly amber shot with green. Her paws were black, with stripes on her legs. The tips of her two tails were also black, like they had been dipped in ink. He knew why she was so small in her human form now. In her demon form, she was no larger than a house cat. 

            In the blink of an eye, the humanoid Kai sat cross-legged in front of him. "Hello? Is anyone there?" She raised a hand to swat his face. 

            He caught her hand. 

            "Just checking," she grinned. Kai stretched. "There's a real nice hot spring a few miles from here. I'm going. You can come, if you want."

            A tiny, almost undetectable blush crept up his face at the thought. "No. You go."

            "Suit yourself. Oh, and thanks for watching me while I slept."

            "I wasn't watching you," he said indifferently. 

            "Of course not."

            Kai carefully placed her dry clothes and katana on a nearby easy-to-reach rock and gently slid into the welcoming steamy water of the hot spring. Nobody bothered her here; it was her favorite spot to sit and think. Kai didn't even think anyone beside herself knew the location of this particular spring. It was all hers to share with whom she will. 

            The steaming heat always seemed to have a calming effect on her mind, invoking a thoughtful, pensive state. She'd been doing a lot more thinking than she was used to these days, it seemed. The youkai sighed. She knew why, too. All her musings were somehow connected to that mysterious fire demon, Hiei Jaganshi. He was so… distant, but not in the way that Kurama was distant… he had grown without family, without knowledge of love… The Koorime weren't to blame, she supposed, nor was it any fault of Hiei's that he was the Forbidden Child, born of an unknown fire demon… 

            Yukina was all he had left. And she didn't know it. Hiei still refused to tell her, thinking himself unworthy of her love. Yukina abhorred killing, of all kinds. He was guilty of murder, theft, and probably of violating most other Makai laws. (Not that there were many.) A felon. That's how he saw himself, nothing more.      

They were so different, she mused, he and she. He had been cast away and unwanted by the Ice Maidens, she had set off away of her own free will. She didn't really understand his pain, had not experienced it herself. She had no right to try to comfort him…

            Oh, but how she wanted to! To tell him, to make him believe, that he was more than he thought… It suddenly occurred to Kai that she had never seen Hiei smile, truly smile. Her heart set in determination at this thought. She _would _help him smile, someday…

            She sank deeper into the water with a heavy sigh. It seemed so hopeless sometimes. With a soft gasp she submerged her head completely in the steamy spring. 

            Shaking the wet droplets from her long hair, she let out a deep sigh. She wasn't really cut out for this kind of thinking…

*** ~ * ~ * ~ ***

**DMG: Gomen! Gomen nasai! I was on vacation for a while, and then I went back to school after a month or two, and I am completely swamped with homework! Besides, I'm not in the mood for deep thinking, which is why this chapter is shorter and not as good as the others. Once again, gomen ne! **

**PLOT in the next chapter! YAY!! Isn't that good? Well, okay, so it's not much of a plot, but storylines have never been my forte anyway. I'll try to update as soon as I can, but don't expect too much! *grumbles under breath about stupid make up tests and Renaissance projects* **


	14. Chapter 14

**DMG: Ohayo, minna-san! And yes, I am still crawling along at a snail's pace. -_- School is evil. EVIL!!! You'll be happy to note that I finally handed in my Renaissance project! (As if you care about my mountains of homework.) And I put this story at about… 20 chapters, perhaps. REVIEWS!:**

**AnimeKrazyIdiot: YAY! New reviewer! Thank you, thank you!**

**Midnightdream51: Somebody should form a Renaissance project support group sometime. I love learning about it, but it's really a pain sometimes, that it is. Eh heh… I hope my plot will be okay… it's not really much of one… but it passes… Hm… Hiei stayed with Kai because he has no real reason to go back to Ningenkai, unlike the others, who all have families. That's it, really. (Unless you just want to call it a plot device. That works too.)**

**Chihiro: Heh… heh… sorry about that. I have a dirty mind. ^-^;; Anyway, thanks for reviewing!**

**Rei Akita: ^____^!**

**Miss Anime Luver: Sure! Go ahead, use it! I'm glad that you're writing a story of your own. I love cats, too. (I have four!) Thanks for asking, though! **

**Toxic Tears1: ^_^ You're right; I have been neglecting that lately, haven't I? **

**YaJiRuShi: Eep! Don't worry, more Hiei/Kai stuff coming soon! *cowers behind computer***

**kirsa****: Ah! Don't worry, homework is evil! I would have more time to update and review other stories if I didn't have any, too. Good luck!**

*** ~ * ~ * ~ ***

            Kai's nose was pink and her cheeks were flushed, although her face still remained as pale as ever underneath, Hiei noted as they stepped lightly back to her den over the deep, cold, pillowy white snow. He had been surprised when the first wet flakes had fallen, carpeting the ground. After all, in Ningenkai, it was still late autumn, and winter should not be here for a month yet. When Kai noticed he was thinking this, she laughed. 

            "It always snows early here," she said.

            Hiei had never really thought about snow before, he realized. To him, it was a reminder of a past he did not want to remember, of a bitter childhood he was denied. Snow to him was the land of the Koorime. 

            But Kai… he had noticed her mood more cheerful as the leaves turned bright, and when the flaming color gave way to white skies and chilly rains. She was always trying to get him to play with her in silly snow games, always laughing at something or other, although never at him. 

            Recently, Hiei had learned to attach new emotions to snow: contentment and security, and maybe even… happiness? Or whatever. 

             Kai stopped suddenly when she could not feel Hiei's youki beside her. She hadn't really been paying attention… was she the one who wandered off, or was he? Or did he just stop for a bit? That was probably it, she decided. And he probably wanted some time to himself. 

            Smiling a bit, she thrust her hands deeper in her pockets and continued to stroll back to her den. Hiei would catch up when he felt like it. 

            It was dark by the time Hiei found the heavy wooden door to Kai's den unlocked. He stepped inside, shaking off his snow-covered boots. She had not let up at all on her no-shoes-inside rule. 

            Kai was not in the main living room, but there was a blazing fire roaring in the hearth. Hiei was never cold, but the welcoming orange glow from the fire added a warmth to the room that he liked. Deciding not to look for the cat demon (who he knew was in the den from her spirit energy and who might get the wrong idea that he liked her if he went to look for her) Hiei sat on his favorite couch closest to the window. 

            A few minutes later, Kai appeared in the comfortable living room bearing a tray with two steaming cups filled with a think, dark liquid. 

            "What is it?" Hiei asked suspiciously as he examined the stuff that Kai gave him. 

            "I had this the last time I was in Ningenkai," she explained. "Keiko called it 'hot cocoa.'" 

            They sipped the 'hot cocoa' in silence, the only sound being the winter wind whistling outside the windows. 

            Kai shivered and sunk deeper into the couch. It was always drafty in here during the winter…

            "Are you cold?" Hiei asked, sounding almost bored, but that was his usual tone.

            "Hmm-mm," she answered idly.

            Her eyes shot open when she felt a warm weight settling around her shoulders. She twisted to see Hiei looking determinedly away from her, his face tinged red at the current position of his arm. 

            She felt her own face heat up, but ignored the sensation. This was her chance! This time, he was going to let her…

            She allowed her head to relax onto Hiei's shoulder. 

            This time, his eyes widened, but he didn't move. Instead, after she was asleep, he gently smoothed her copper-and-gold streaked hair from her face and watched her peaceful, sleeping face for a long while.

The next morning, Kai was awakened by a sharp tapping against the glass. 

            "Hmm?" Kai yawned, revealing gleaming fangs, and attempted to stretch (in the manner of cats after waking up), when she found she was being tightly held by something comfortably warm… "Oh!" Hiei's face was _very _close to hers. 

            At her little exclamation of surprise, Hiei slowly opened his eyes. He blinked a few times. "Kai?"

            "Yes! Who _else _would I be?" She eyed him suspiciously.

            "No one." He abruptly realized he still had a death grip on her waist (they had shifted during the night), and released her. 

Kai didn't move after Hiei had gotten up. Instead, she stared blankly in the direction he had gone for several minutes with a strange expression on her face. 

            Her spell was broken with another sharp rap to her window glass. (Yes, she has glass; Kai likes the human influence thing - you might say she's kinda modern - and she was a pretty successful assassin (meaning $$$)) 

            Grumbling slightly, she moved over to the window and threw it open. Sitting on her sill was a majestic youkai hawk of gigantic proportions, bearing a tied scroll in his sharp, curved beak.

            "Konnichiwa, Taka-sama! Did you want to talk to me?" Kai asked him.

            He shifted his long talons on the smooth sill uncomfortably. "Indeed I did, koneko. A woman with blue hair riding a flying oar was heading to your den, and as lord of the skies here, I asked her for her business. As I suspected, she said she was going to deliver a message to you. However, I saw that you were busy," he paused to notice Kai's blush, "and I offered to take it to you instead."

            "Ah – arigato, Taka-sama…"

            "Koneko – have you finally taken a mate?" 

            Kai choked and turned brilliant red. "Ah – no, no, no… Hiei is… he's just…. Ah…"

            The hawk looked at her in understanding. "I see. You humanoid youkai are very strange." He waited until Kai took the letter before spreading his wings and taking off.

            Seeing that it was addressed to both her and Hiei, Kai summoned the fire youkai before opening it. 

"Hiei and Kai,

            Go to Ningenkai and wait there with the others until I can give you the instructions for your next mission.

- Pretty Koenma, Jr. Ruler of the Spirit World"

            It was overly decorated and stamped with a heavy seal.

"… a little vague, don't you think?" 

            "No, baka no neko, we just have to go to Ningenkai and wait. How much more specific could it get?"

            "Whatever. And what's with the 'Pretty Koenma' thing?"

            "Hn. Don't ask."

            _Knock, knock. _

            "Hello?" A middle-aged woman with a kind face answered the knock to her door. 

            "Hello," the blonde girl with green eyes said carefully. "We're looking for… Shuuichi. Is he here?" 

            Shiori Minamino wondered at the almost undetectable pause before her son's name, but decided it was nothing. "Of course. He's in his room. You can go there."

            "Thank you. My name is Kai, and this is Hiei," she said, pointing to the silent boy beside her. 

            "I'm pleased to meet you. I am Minamino Shiori."

            They bowed slightly before proceeding up to Kurama's room. He was waiting for them. 

            "So, I see Koenma contacted you?"

            "Yes," Kai replied.

            "Hn." (Which can mean 'yes,' among other things, in the language of Hn. The only known master of this noble tongue is a certain fire demon by the name of Hiei... But the history of 'Hn' is a story for another day.)

            "But we really don't know why," she continued. "All it said was to wait in Ningenkai."

            "That, I cannot help you with. None of us know the reason," Kurama explained. 

            "And I still want to know what's with the 'Pretty Koenma' thing!"

Kurama ~ (flashback)

            "Congratulations on advancing in the Dark Tournament," Koenma said in his high-pitched squeaky little voice. 

            The Tantei were lounging in a hotel room, listening to Koenma yap about something or another. Hiei was sitting in a windowsill, looking out at the pouring rain. Kurama was coaxing a rose plant to grow in the palm of his hand (talented, huh?). Kuwabara was hanging all over Yukina and receiving murderous looks from Hiei, who had pulled himself away from the fascinating rain to watch over his sister. Yusuke, seemingly unaware of it all, was applying more superglue to his hair, which had somehow gotten messed up in the last fight. The girls were sitting on the couches drinking soda. Suddenly Koenma said something that made them all to pause and exchange sweatdrops. 

            "And one more thing before you go off partying or training or whatever it is that you do. Call me Pretty Koenma. I think it brings out the sparkle in my eyes." Koenma batted his eyelashes, causing Yusuke to hurl into his bucket of hair grease/superglue solution. (He buys it by the bucket because he goes through the stuff so quickly.)

            George (sp?) the faithful and ever-frazzled oni, dashed into the room just as Koenma was saying this. He appeared severely traumatized and began rolling on the floor, screaming, "No! Not again! Not again!"

            The Tantei all remembered some urgent appointment that they were very late for and rushed out.

Kurama ~ (end flashback)

            "You really don't want to know," he told her with a sweatdrop.

            "That's what Hiei said," she muttered.

            "Kurama. Can we stay here?" Hiei interrupted. 

            "Oh, yeah," Kai remembered. "The weather's really not that nice so I don't feel like sleeping in a tree. And I don't want to sleep in any more trees with Hiei," she said, glaring darkly at the fire youkai.

            "Well," Kurama considered, putting down the tea he'd suddenly been sipping. "As you can see, my mother is home right now, and she will be here for several weeks. If you like, I can make up a story about you two staying, but it will have to be convincing. I think my mother's beginning to wonder about all my disappearances."

            "No, we can find someplace else," Hiei said. "We don't want your mother to suspect anything, although I don't know why you don't just tell her and get it over with."

            "It's not that simple, Hiei. But thank you."

            "Hn." Hiei turned away, appearing faintly embarrassed about his tiny display of friendship and compassion for the fox.

            "Thanks anyway, Kurama," Kai said. "We'll be in touch." 

            "So. Where do we try now?" Kai asked, dubiously eyeing all the ningen houses on the street. 

            "Yusuke's house," Hiei ground out between clenched teeth. Asking anyone, even the fox, for help was a blow to his pride. And the detective…

            A young woman clasping a sake bottle opened the door to Yusuke's house. 

            "Hullo? *hic* Who's there?" she asked, swaying slightly and peering above the pissed-off demons' heads into the darkness.

            "Down here," Kai sulked. 

            "Oh! *hic* Are you *hic* friends of Yusuke's?" 

            "Yes, is he here?" Hiei asked impatiently. The woman's breath smelled of alcohol, and it was irritating the hell out of his acute demon senses. Beside him, Kai looked ready to keel over. 

            "Hm…" she looked back into the house. "YUSUKE!!! YUSUKE, ARE YOU THERE? SOME FRIENDS ARE HERE TO SEE YOU!!" She waited for a few minutes in silence. "Nope. I guess he isn't here," she giggled. She appeared momentarily sober. "You could try the house of that friend of his, what's his name… Kuwabaka or something?" So much for sober.

"Let's go," sighed Kai. "And, unfortunately, the only place left to try is… Kuwabaka's house." She snickered at the mauling of his name, no matter how fitting the change was. 

            Hiei didn't reply. 

            "Are you alright? You're awfully quiet. Anything you'd like to talk about?" Kai immediately went into super shrink mode, copying some guy she saw once on Kurama's TV thing.      

            "No," he said shortly. _Nothing I can talk to _you _about. _

            She frowned slightly at his curt answer and followed. One minute, he was acting like he might just open up, and the next he was pushing her away again. It just wasn't fair!

            Shizuru answered the door to the Kuwabara house, cigarette between her fingers. "Hello." 

            "Hi, Shizuru. Um… Hiei and I were wondering if we could crash here for a while…" 

            "Sure. My idiot brother and Yusuke are over there watching movies with Keiko and Boton and Yukina. Have fun."

            Kai saw Hiei tense at the mention of Yukina. She wished he would just tell her and get it over with… but that was his business and not hers… He really did not look well. All pale and nervous… 

Gah! Stoppit, you moron! You're _mad _at him, remember? 

            Oh, right. Um… why was I mad again?

            He's pushing you away, baka! And after being so warm last night…

            Oh, yes! Grrr! This is so damn confusing!

(Oh great. Now Kai has schizophrenia.)

            "Hey, guys!" Kuwabara shouted enthusiastically. "What are you doing here?"

            "Since when have you liked them, Kuwabara?" Yusuke asked sarcastically, completely ignoring the two demons. 

            "I dunno…" he trailed off. "Hey, Kai, are you alright? You're ki's all weird and stuff…"

            "Ah hah… No, I'm fine!" *cheesy smile*

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

**DMG: Hey, everybody, I'm ending it here because… well, I really don't know why. I just don't feel like writing for so many characters at the moment. Sorry if anyone was OOC, some people's personalities are really hard to write for. **

**Random Stuff: I really want a chocolate cake right now. Last night I had a dream about chocolate cake. I took it from some random old lady's kitchen. I ate it. Then the old lady got really pissed at me. I woke up craving chocolate cake. The scary thing is, I've had this dream before. X_X **


	15. Chapter 15

**DMG: ****I have had the WORST days EVER. I lied to my mom, told her I wasn't sick so I could go to the mall and buy manga, BUT THEY DIDN'T HAVE ANYTHING I WANTED! And now I feel REALLY sick, I shouldn't have gone out AND people are criticizing me! Now, I know I'm probably REALLY spoiled from all the nice reviews people have been giving me (and it's not like I mind constructive criticism or anything for all you steady reviewers- you still manage to say something nice, too) but I have NEVER been accused of writing mary-sue before, and so I am REALLY PISSED OFF! Underdeveloped, immature, and, what was it? Needs more creativity? GRRRR! This is F@#$ing FANFICTION, for heaven's Sa-ke! Anyway, how can this story be judged on the FIRST chapter? Huh? I wrote it about a year ago dand I am still practicing!**

**Saelbu****: Thanks a lot for the kind words! You managed to cheer me up!**

**asian**** princess 61: Arigato! Arigato! Glad you liked it!**

**Rei Akita: heehee! I had one where this guy tried to rob my house, and I somehow… uh… let's not go into details on that one. Suffice to say he died. **

**Toxic Tears1: Wow! Thanks for your really sweet review! Hee hee! I really do need a psychiatrist, but I'm afraid they'd be scarred for life. Don't worry, this chapter is almost entirely Hiei's POV! Arigato!**

**Kirsa: Uhh…. Heh. I think so. One more mission, that's it. (And no, it's not going to be like the last one)**

**Miss Anime Luver: Yeah… I know. But if you think about it, Hiei showing any emotion whatsoever is OOC, so you knew it'd have to be sometime.**

**Midnightdream51: I really like getting reviews from you. Hee hee! I know (about the house thing) That was shamelessly ignoring his character. Gomen! Well, I know he was OOC, but since people's characters are so multi-faceted, they can sometimes do things they normally wouldn't. Anime people included. But… I know he was OOC all the same. I'll try to be more careful! Thank you!**

**FREAK: Oh ho ho. Don't get me started on you. Everyone's favorite? Riiight… Oh wait. I do have something to say. (not that you're reading this or anything) Why don't you improve your spelling before insulting me again?**

**YaJiRuShi: thank you!! **

**Reading all of your reviews over again, I can see I got a lot more nice ones than criticizing ones! ^^ I guess I just have to look on the bright side of things! Now I feel all warm and fuzzy!  (Uh – oh. Mood swings. That's never a good sign)**

*** ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ ***

A few weeks passed with no contact from Koenma. It was now early December (I don't know what the climate is like in Japan, so I'm just using it from where I live), and the first snowflakes were falling in the city. 

            Hiei was sitting up in the branches of a tree, although, since the leaves had all fallen, the privacy was lacking. A minor annoyance. Kai was in the kitchen; learning to make some ningen thing called 'cookies' and other such foods. He knew this because he could see her quite clearly through the window from where he sat.

            She was laughing at something Keiko, Yusuke's ningen 'girlfriend' (whatever that was), said. Boton was there, (curse that annoying ferrygirl and her cheerful bubblyness), as was Shizuru, (Kuwabara's older sister – thank whatever gods there are that she's not as stupid as he is) … and Yukina… Hiei's thoughts stopped here. He couldn't think about her right now. His life was confusing enough.

            Kai had stopped laughing now. Her back was turned, but Hiei could almost see the expression of wistful sadness behind her eyes. He'd seen it more and more often since they'd all been staying at the Kuwabara household. Just a brief flash of emotion; fast enough that he might have been imagining it, if he didn't know better. And then… she would be insecure, if only for a moment. And then she was grinning again, like no dark thought had ever crossed her mind. 

            He could feel her watching him sometimes, when she thought he wouldn't notice. Possibly she felt him watching her too. He hadn't been able to look her in the eye, much less touch her or even talk to her, since that last night they were at her den. Sometimes he felt himself think about it at odd moments, and he would allow himself to smile… just a little.  

            He was so engrossed in his musings that he didn't notice the girls leaving the kitchen, or the snowball that came flying through the air, hitting him in the back of the head and startling him so much he almost fell out of the tree. Then Kai's grinning face popped up in front of them, and _that nearly gave him a heart attack, in addition to causing him to lose his balance and come crashing down to the ground. _

            He spat out snow and glared at the still-grinning Cheshire… I mean Kai. 

            "What?" 

            He gaped at her question. 

            "It's called a snowball fight. See?" And she lobbed another one at his face. 

            Boton edged nervously behind a tree as she heard Hiei's fangs, er, teeth grinding together. All of his previous death threats floated to the top of her rather empty mind. (She has good intentions though; I'll give her that.) 

            "A snowball fight…" Hiei appeared to consider the words as he turned a pile of snow over in his hands, mashing it into a sphere. (Surprisingly, it did not melt on contact ^_^) 

            It hit her full in the face, right on target. She sputtered for a few seconds, then retaliated. Soon snowballs were flying thick and fast between the combatants. 

            Boton temporarily got over her fear of Hiei to join in; Yusuke and Kurama and Kuwabara came back from shopping (the girls had sent them out earlier in the day to buy more baking supplies. Hiei was no where to be found, so he was off the hook.) 

            They were all laughing hard by the end, and Hiei even cracked an imperceptible smile. Yukina seemed surprised she had joined in a game where the object was hitting people, but Kuwabara assured her no one was hurt. 

            Keiko showed Kai and Yukina how to make snow angels. They lay in the snow (feeling rather stupid) and waved their arms and legs. Kai tried to get up when she was done, but found she couldn't. 

            Hiei solved the problem by stepping lightly on either side of the design and lifting her out. Kai, surprised and pleased, grinned widely. (This did not go unnoticed by Kurama and the female members of the group, who snickered to themselves.)

            Kai surveyed her handiwork critically, then bent over to draw horns and a tail on it. "Snow 'angel' doesn't really suit me," she explained. "I think snow 'demon' is better!"

            The Reiki Tantei sighed and shook their heads, although it was true, they admitted, Kai's not really what you'd call an angel, but she's more full of mischief than anything else. 

            "Yeah, tell that to the people she killed for _money_," Kuwabara muttered. (I've always thought Kuwabara's not the type to approve or forgive assassinations. He just seems that way, so full of morals. *retch*)

            Kurama, Yusuke, Keiko, Boton and Yukina were preparing to leave for their homes for the night, when Koenma suddenly popped into the room.

            Yusuke was on the floor, clutching his chest. "Don't – do – that!" he panted. "You nearly gave me a heart attack! Then you'd have to bring me back again!" 

            "No need, Yusuke," Koenma said through his pacifier. "Ahem. Sorry for the delay. The paperwork got backed up, and I forgot I had you all here, and I got caught up in the Pacifier Junkie Support Group – ahem. Never mind that. What matters is that I'm here now, and I want you to come back to Reikai with me to discuss your next mission."

            Koenma settled himself in the large chair behind his desk. The Reiki Tantei were assembled before him, idly lounging against the wall, or looking out the window to the River Styx below. The mood was light and unconcerned – a new mission was not something to be worried about; in fact, it was a good way to relieve the boredom of everyday life. 

            Koenma himself was not perturbed – the Tantei could handle anything in their way. (But it's always a good precaution to keep that little black funeral suit at hand, ne?)

            "George will bring the paperwork," Koenma announced presently. 

            The Tantei waited patiently. Boton was there, rocking back and forth and chattering about something to Kai, who really wasn't listening. Hiei stared out the window, and Kurama leaned against the wall. Yusuke and Kuwabara were bickering about something or other, and everything was normal. 

            I have absolutely no idea why I'm describing this to you. Anyway…

            George came rushing into the room, bearing a floppy disk and a thick stack of papers. 

            "Okay!" Koenma squeaked. "Now we can begin. Your next mission involves a village of neko youkai up north in the Ryuu Mountains. It's a strange enough place – more like Ningenkai than anywhere else you'll find. The neko there are Healers; they work with plants."

            His projector showed a picture of a dusty summer path leading to a small village with old Japanese-style buildings. 

            "This is the village. Interesting place, isn't it? Now…"

            Hiei glanced over at Kai. She hadn't said anything the entire time. Her eyes had gone strangely flat. Her normally cheerful smile was gone; in its place her mouth was set in an angry line. She looked more like the ruthless assassin she had been when they met her than the smiling little Tantei she was now. 

            He concluded she'd met the neko of this village before, and the meeting had not ended in friendship. 

            "… they want us to help them. Apparently, there is a sickness among them, an unfamiliar disease they cannot cure."

            Yusuke looked bewildered. "But what can we do? We're fighters, not doctors!"

            The rest of the Tantei nodded in agreement. They found this odd as well. Kurama was the only one in their group with any skill at healing at all. 

            "I think it would be easier if I had one of them explain it to you. Ah, here he is now."

            A young man followed an oni into Koenma's office. He was small, barely taller than Hiei or Kai. He had refined features – vaguely catlike – and striking emerald eyes that seemed to glitter when he moved. His hair was messy and light brown, and constantly fell into his eyes. His ears were the same color black as Kai's, barely visible over his hair. Boton must have had a field day when he came. 

            He crossed gracefully to the center of the room and bowed formally. "My name is Shasa Ryuu," he began. "I am the fourteenth son of Keisuke and Michilu Ryuu. I was sent to ask the Reiki Tantei for help regarding the situation of our village. We would not ask if the need were not pertinent."

            'Don't I know that,' Kai grumbled to herself, although she didn't say it out loud. 

            Yusuke interrupted him. "Look, I'm really sorry and all, but we can't help you. We're fighters, not doctors!" he said for the second time that day.

            Shasa smiled faintly. "Hear me out, please. Ordinarily we could cure anything brought to our attention. However, this sickness is persistent and deadly. Nothing will stop it. We have thus been led to believe that this is not natural illness."

            Kurama raised an eyebrow. "Demon-spawned? I thought even those could be cured by a skillful healer." He said this honestly, no trace of mocking in his tone, but Shasa flushed, betraying his youth. 

            "I assure you: no greater Healers can be found than those of our village! I won't have you implying that we are inferior!"

            "I did not intend to imply that. No offense meant," Kurama said calmly. 

            Shasa cooled slightly. 

            Hiei spoke up. "Do you know of a demon with a grudge against your people?"

            The neko youth looked away. "None that I know of. I only know what I've been told and can see for myself. I've been trained in herbs and healing since I could walk, and I've never experienced anything like this."

            Kai had not said anything this entire time, though her eyes were fixed on Shasa's face. Hiei thought this slightly strange; after all, they were of the same kind, even if she harbored no good feelings to this village. She appeared almost calculating. 

            "How long ago did this begin?" Kurama asked gently. The others watched; Kurama was undoubtedly the best to take charge for now. 

            "About a year or two," Shasa replied.

            "You let it go this long?!" Yusuke exploded.

            Shasa flushed again. "It was not so bad at first. We could even treat it a little. It was not until about six months ago that people started dying!"

            "How many have died so far?" Kurama prodded, his tone still gentle. 

            "Nearly twenty." Shasa's ears dropped ever so slightly at the number. 

            Kai's twitched almost imperceptibly. 

            "How many live in your village?"

            "Two hundred, maybe less," Shasa answered, though he couldn't see the point.  

            "And you can think of no one with a grudge?"

            "Iie." 

            "Strange." Kurama thought silently for a minute. "How is the land around you?"

            "It began to die about six months ago. It's almost like there's a shadow hanging over our heads…"

            The Reiki Tantei stood silent for a while. 

            "It certainly sounds to be of demon origin," Kurama admitted. "I believe we should investigate this."

            "Yeah!" Kuwabara said enthusiastically. "We can find the nasty demon that is causing all this!" 

            "Right away?" Yusuke asked. 

            "Why not?" Koenma asked his detective. 

            "Well, Christmas is coming and I sorta promised Keiko I'd celebrate it with her, seeing as how I haven't been around much…"

            "Hm," Kurama said. "That poses a problem for me as well."

            Hiei exchanged a perplexed look with Kai, who shrugged. It was obvious her mind was on something else besides the over-commercialized Western holiday. 

            "Oh, yes!" Koenma sighed. "That's in about a week, right?" 

            The Tantei nodded. 

            "Can it wait that long?" he asked the young neko.

            "I've waited long enough," he said reluctantly. "I suppose it will not matter to wait another week."

            "Great!" Yusuke shouted. "Now Keiko won't shout at me!"

            "I still have to buy gifts…" Kuwabara muttered.

            "Damn," Yusuke muttered. "I knew I forgot something…"

            No one noticed Kai slip quietly out of the room. 

*** ~ * ~ * ~ ***

**DMG: I just finished reading Vol. 1 of Ceres and I am faced with a certain predicament for the first time: I can't decide which guy I like the best! It's absolutely driving me up the wall! Toya's really cool and mysterious, and there's something about Yuhi that I really like too! Hm… **

**OMG!!! I JUST SAW THE RETURN OF THE KING!!! Woo-hoo! LOTR fans everywhere, rejoice! For Faramir's character is back the way it should be! (I thought they kind of messed him up in the second…) He's my favorite, BTW… It's just so sad (but I'm not going to ramble on about it and spoil it for those who haven't seen it yet! ^^) Faramir! Faramir! Faramir! All bow to the great Tolkien, the greatest fantasy writer of all time! (Ok, my opinion…) Oh yeah… I like Aragorn too (hot as well…) and Legolas is good looking, but not my fav. (But I really do like ****Orlando**** Bloom in Pirates of the ****Caribbean****…) Am I rambling again? Okay I'll stop. I think I have more Author's Note than story… how bad is that? And FF.net doesn't allow you to post Author's Notes alone anymore, doesn't that suck?**


	16. Chapter 16

DMG: Finally, I'm back! Sorry I took so long - I actually had about half of this written, before it got wiped from my disk. V_V Anyway, after that, I kinda lost the thread of this story. so I took a bit of a break. (Besides the fact that the marking period ends, so I gotta bring my grades up quick!) 

**Review Responses: **

**Icy: Thank you so much! Your review kicked my muse off her lazy bum and into action! ^_^ **

**MidnightDream51: Actually, I intend to rewrite this story completely once I'm finished. I've noticed a few areas where it's awkward, so I'll try to fix it up. Unfortunately, that won't be for a while yet. Thanks for you're reaaally nice and long review! I'm so happy you care about my writing enough that you'll take all that time for me!**

**Toxic Tears1: ^______^ I daresay you'll find out in this chapter.**

**asian princess 61: Sorry it took so long! At least its here now. Thanks!**

**Rei Akita: ^^ Eh. I guess the update wasn't so soon in coming, ne? But I'll try harder next time! Thank you for reviewing!**

**Saelbu: Sorry to keep you waiting! *sweatdrop* It seems all my replies start with sorry this time. ^^ Thank you!**

**Youkai Goddess: ^_________^ Oh yes, I think you'll find out a lot more in this chappie!!!**

*** ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ ***

        "What in the seventh circle of hell is that stuff?" Hiei asked diplomatically of Kai as they sat on the roof of the Kuwabara household. 

            She gave him a flat-eyed stare as the saccharine sweet stench wafted on the chilly night breeze. "None of your damn business," she retorted. "It's Boton's."

            "I might have known. It stinks." 

            "No shit," she snapped, trying to spare her own nose the experience of smelling the awful perfume. 

            "Why are you wearing it then?"

            "I've got my reasons," she replied evasively. 

            "I don't suppose it has anything to do with that neko kid."  
            "So what if it has?" she returned, unable to think of a misleading truth and unwilling to lie to the fire demon.

            He shrugged and turned away, moving to sit downwind. 

            Her eyes closed sadly, a regretful smile playing on her lips. 

            Hiei watched her with the Jagan; amazed she could be a youkai and show so much emotion. 

            "You told me everything about you," she said quietly. "Yet I have told you nothing of myself."

            "Hn." He didn't like being reminded of the way he'd spilled his guts to her when they first met. 

            "Maybe it's better that way." she continued wistfully. "I'm not exactly proud."

            Hiei silently wondered what she did that she couldn't tell him.

            "Or maybe it's not that bad at all."

"YO!!!" Yusuke yelled, shattering the calm that surrounded them. "CHRISTMAS DINNER IS READY AND YOU TWO ARE NOT MISSING THIS!!"

"Well," she said, smiling softly, "I guess we can't get out of this one."

"Kai." Hiei started. 

"Yes?" she whispered, leaning closer, the unspoken question shining in her eyes.

"Are you really going to wear that crap inside?"

(My apologies for the corny scene. XD)

            She facefaulted. And slid down the mushy melting snow off the roof, coming to land on her butt in the slushy stuff at the bottom. 

            "What were you expecting me to say?" -_- 

            She gave him a deadpan look as an answer. "I'm going to take a bath. Tell them to start without me."

            "Hn." He really had no intention of going in to eat. Didn't those ningen eat enough during the day? And now they wanted to eat more! It was just ridiculous. Nevertheless, he hopped down and disappeared inside one of the windows.

            Kai sank up to her nose in the steaming bath she'd just drawn for herself. Here, alone, she allowed her face to relax and settle into an expression of quiet sadness. She raised the wet tips of her fingers to touch the corners of her mouth and eyes. She'd been smiling so much lately. Most of it was even real. 

            They were all so nice. even Boton, as annoying as she was. They made her feel welcome. And Hiei. he was something more, something special. He made her happy. That was undeniable. 

            When she was around him, she was herself. And that was okay. for the first time in her life. And now it was all shattered. 

            Snatches of loud and cheerful conversation drifted through the walls to Kai's ears. it didn't matter what they were saying. They sounded happy. She had no place among such company. 

            "So where's she?" Yusuke asked through a mouthful of food. 

            Hiei narrowly dodged the flying. erm. stuff. "In the bath," he said shortly. 

            "What'smatter wit 'er?" Yusuke finally swallowed. "She's been acting awfully strange lately."

            "It's nothing." 

            The neko kid, Shasa, sat cross-legged in the corner, observing the goings-on with keen eyes and ears. They were talking about the girl again. The neko youkai who was at Reikai and then was not there at all. It was almost as if she was avoiding the group. Something was funny about her. He was going to figure it out. 

            Shasa continued his reflections; unaware he was under close examination by a certain red-haired kitsune. 

            Kurama watched thoughts flit across the young neko's face, so expressive for a youkai. The only other demon he had ever seen with that face, almost innocent in a way, was. Kai. 

            "Striking, isn't it? The resemblance?" Kurama muttered softly to Hiei. 

            "Hn," the fire demon responded noncommittally. The kitsune was right, of course. 

            Overall dinner was a rather subdued affair. Kurama and Hiei sat in the corner, communicating without words. Yusuke and Kuwabara, drunk on eggnog, were engaged in a fistfight, but even that seemed half-hearted. Boton chatted nervously with Keiko. Yukina watched Yusuke and Kuwabara, emitting small gasps every time a punch hit home (which was quite often). Shasa sat in the other corner, still wary of the mismatched group of fighters he found himself in. 

            All talking ceased when Kai, dressed in a borrowed pair of shorts and a tee shirt, stepped inside, damp hair still piled on top of her head. 

            "What?!" she cried. "Is there something WRONG?!" Her flashing eyes dared anyone to argue. 

::gulp:: 

            "Just like you to arrive just in time for dessert," Yusuke grinned. 

            She stuck her tongue out at him. Conversation resumed as normal.

            "Something is certainly bothering her," Kurama said. 

            Hiei didn't answer, not like the fox was expecting him to. Discreetly, he watched Kai's face, her ever-changing expressions, the grin she flashed every few minutes, the strange sheen in her eyes - not an entirely pleasant gleam. It was like a veil, concealing her true feelings. Frequently, her eyes were shaded by her bangs, and Hiei knew she was stealing a glance at Shasa, sitting cross-legged in the corner, curiously observing the proceedings. 

            Now more than ever he was attuned to the similarities of their faces, the tilt of their eyes, the angle of their faces. He saw in them many of the qualities others commented on with him and Yukina. Their petite stature. The way they smiled. The colors of their eyes and hair. 

            Him and Yukina. Kai and Shasa. Now he was sure. 

            "Excuse me?" 

            "What is your surname." Hiei leaned against the wall of the guest bedroom, where Kai was throwing various items viciously into a pack. 

            "I haven't got one!" she gritted through clenched teeth. _I don't. I don't! _She thought fiercely. 

            Hiei had no intention of probing her mind. But he did intend to find what she was hiding. Without another word, his form disappeared with a flash. The window shades fluttered behind him. Kai tied off the knot to her pack, and slowly crawled under a futon to sleep. If she had been human, she would have cried. 

            He looked so peaceful while he was sleeping. Like he didn't have a care in the world. Like he wasn't the 'Forbidden Child' of the Koorime. Like he didn't have to worry about Yukina, his precious sister. 

            His black spiky bangs fell gently into his face, and she longed to brush them away. She knew if she went any closer, he would wake. As it was, her spirit energy was nearly at zero. 

            Her hand stopped hesitantly over his still form. She didn't want to wake him. She didn't want to interrupt that deep, rhythmic breathing. But that was what she came to do, wasn't it? Perhaps she should have woken the others first. She came here with the purpose to tell him something. But what to tell? It was no use now. 

            She touched a slim hand to his shoulder. Instantly her other flew to his, where it rested on the hilt of his katana, ready to attack. 

            They were almost touching, frozen to the spot by some indescribable force. She could feel his breath, and knew he could feel hers. It did not catch in her throat. His blood-red eyes looked especially large in the pre-dawn darkness, she thought with a brief pang of longing. 

            There was no more blushing at their close contact, he thought with an unfamiliar emotion that might have been regret. He could easily remember a time, not so long ago, when they would sit on a couch comfortably together, when she would sling an arm around him for the hell of it. With a sense of finality, he realized those times were gone to them. Sometime during their brief stay in Ningenkai, a gulf had yawned between them, a chasm that could not be breached. 

            "It's time to go," she said flatly, no trace of emotion in her normally open jade eyes. After all, what could she say? Nothing that could solve this problem they found themselves in. She straightened and stiffly exited the room, disappearing down the dark hallway, intending to wake the rest of the Rei Tantei. She wanted an early start, the sooner to get this over with. 

            Naturally, this was all for the best, he reasoned. Emotions were a liability. Friendships were a liability. Relationships were a liability. Love was a liability. 

.That last thought didn't belong in there, he thought hastily. Love was NOT a liability, because he did NOT love. Nobody. Love was a human failing.  

It was just as well that she was cold. Colder, even, than when they first met, almost a year ago, now. Time flew since then, yet it seemed so long ago. It was so natural for her feline, grinning features to be present. It would be strange having her gone. 

He wasn't stupid. He saw what she packed. Everything. And he knew what she would do, without even using the Jagan. She would see the case through. It was not like her to half-ass a job. Then she would ask Koenma for leave, and he would give it. She would go back to her secure den in the mountains, and they would never see each other again. As simple as that. 

Kai adjusted the strap to her pack across her shoulder. It was heavier than she was used to, but, being a demon, she was not bothered by the weight. She could feel the others' eyes on her. She shrugged off the feeling. It was time to go. 

*** ~ * ~ * ~ ***

**DMG: What have I done? Have I joined the ranks of the morbidly depressed? Two breakup chapters, and right near Valentine's Day, too. (Not that I particularly care about that holiday. it's all pink and lacy. I HATE pink and lacy. *shudders*) **

**            Anyway, I'm sad to say I've noticed a general downward spiral in the quality of YYH fics. And I've noticed a fairly new trend: a staggering amount of reader-insert fics. (I seriously hope I'm not offending anybody. If I am don't mind me.) One, once in a while, is no big deal. But now, every other fic is one! It's crazy! Also, a lot of people don't take the time to spell names and words correctly. That's a real pet peeve of mine. I'm not saying my fics are perfect or even that great, but I do spend a lot of time planning and writing. (And I hope my ideas are somewhat original.) Anyway. I hope I don't sound like a hypocrite here, but. nevermind. **

**Please review! I love to hear your feedback! (And if you wanna recommend any good stories that I've been missing, please tell me!)**


End file.
